Hasbaya gets round-the clock electricity

The southern town of Hasbaya has enjoyed electricity 24/7 since the beginning of this month. Hasbaya is the first city in the south and the second in the country to achieve 24-hour electricity, after Zahle.

The situation is due to the work of the Municipality of Hasbaya. The municipal council bought generators producing close to four megawatts (MW) of power to use during electricity blackouts, and placed them outside inhabited areas of the town in lands either owned by the municipality or rented.

Labib Hamra, Mayor of Hasbaya, said the roads of the town will always be lit. “We exchanged all the road lighting with LED lights,” he said. The Municipality is also offering electricity to underprivileged homes and public institutions for free.

Hasbaya and the small neighboring village of Ain Jarfa are benefiting from these initiatives. The investment was approximately $1.5 million, and the number of subscribers is close to 2,800 residential units and shops.

A team from the municipality will collect the bills. Each beneficiary will pay LL50,000 ($33) for installation fees, LL15,000 ($10) per month as a subscription payment, and the rest of his monthly bill will depend on consumption. A new distribution network was constructed to serve the inhabitants.Small amounts were paid as compensation to the owners of old generators who were providing their own electricity to residents.

Reported by Fouad Chehab