Businessmen and women gathering: Activating the Electricity Regulatory Authority and updating legislation is priority to restructuring the sector

The Lebanese Business Men and Women (RDCL) gathering organized a special dialogue session yesterday during the opening of the “Beirut Energy Conference” at the Metropolitan Hotel. The dialogue session was conducted by a member of the group’s board of directors, Dalia Jbeili, with the participation of the Minister of Energy and Water Joe Sadi, Minister of Industry, Joe Issa El -Khoury, Chairman of the Industrialists Association Salim Al -Zaani, Regional Director of the International Bank in Lebanon Enrique Blanco Armas, Secretary of the Lebanon Branch of the World Energy Council Pierre El Khoury, and Chairman of the Poultry Conservative Syndicate in Lebanon William Boutros.

The head of the gathering, Jumana Sadiqi, opened a word in which she stressed that “the gathering since its foundation in 1986 has continued to defend the legitimate private sector as the backbone of the Lebanese economy.” She pointed out that “Minister Joe Issa El -Khoury held the position of Secretary -General of the gathering in 1997, while Salim Al -Zaani was one of the founders,” expressing her thanks to the World Bank for his continuous support. She pointed out that “the diversity of the participants reflects the importance of the integrated approach.” On his part, the Minister of Energy and Water presented an atmosphere of the priorities of the Ministry of Energy, foremost of which is the activation of the regulatory body and ensuring its independence as a condition for transparency and consumer protection, with the dismissal of obstetrics, transportation and distribution jobs to open the way to attract special investments. He stressed that “the gradual transition to natural gas is necessary to reduce cost and achieve sustainability,” noting that “the modernization of Law No. 462 has become a duty to keep pace with developments and enhance the independence of the commission.” He explained that “the sustainability of production requires solutions such as small networks (Microgrids) and expanding the Net Metering to reduce costs and increase dependence on renewable energy sources. He also called for reforming the tariff system and linking it to quality and reliability”, considering that “the decentralization in production is a basic step”, and emphasizing the need for “real banking facilities after years of relying on self -financing”. In turn, the director announced. The Regional World Bank in Lebanon, Mr. Enrique Blanco Armas, said that “the World Bank has approved a new program to support renewable energy in Lebanon, including the establishment of a national control center, the supply of additional solar energy capabilities, the rehabilitation of a number of electrical stations, the enhancement of transportation networks, in addition to institutional reforms that pave the way to open the sector to specific private investments, and support projects to move towards adopting natural gas to reduce the cost of the cost Production. On his part, the head of the Poultry Breeders Syndicate in Lebanon, Mr. William Boutros, offered to experience the poultry sector “in relying on solar energy and storage, as it covered increasing proportions of production operations despite the challenges. He believed that the hybrid solutions between solar energy and storage are a process to secure a less expensive and more sustainable energy source. ”For his part, the Secretary of the Lebanon Branch in the World Energy Council, Mr. Pierre El Khoury, affirmed that“ improving energy efficiency and integrating it into an integrated national policy is a prerequisite for reducing cost and improving the reliability of nutrition, ”stressing that“ developing organizational frameworks helps to attract broader investments in renewable energy. ” The conclusion of the session, the participants unanimously agreed that “the activation of the electricity regulatory body and the update of the legislation represents the priority to restructure the sector, and that the financing remains the biggest challenge for industrialists, which requires urgent banking and regulatory reforms.”