Lebanon Asks UN for Aid To ‘Keep the Lights On’ in Refugee Camps

Lebanon has called on the United Nations to assist with the electricity costs of Syrian and Palestinian refugees residing in the country, in a bid to ease the burden on the nation’s collapsing power sector. The appeal was made by caretaker Energy Minister Dr. Walid Fayad, who stressed the economic distress inflicted on Lebanon’s state power company. Two technical committees will be established to assess the electricity consumption in Syrian and Palestinian refugee camps.

Lebanon’s electricity crisis, which accounts for over 40% of its sovereign debt, has been worsened by a three-year financial crisis and a shortage of US dollars required for fuel imports. The country’s authorities seek the facilitate the safe return of Syrian refugees and estimate that the refugees cost the country approximately $6 billion per year, twice the estimate given by the World Bank in 2013, according to Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib.