According to the world bank, 100% of Lebanon’s people have access to electricity (World Bank, 2023). What does “access” really mean — do a few hours of power for the poor count as accessible?

Lebanese people, especially those in Beirut, have long relied on diesel generators to fill gaps in Électricité du Liban’s supply; after 2019’s hyperinflation, private subscription-based generators ran as the primary source of electricity for roughly 20 hours a day. Operated by only a few with the capital to invest, these generators became the only source of power for the many. Today, this illegal yet indispensable industry is our shadow grid—households depend on it not by choice but because decades of under-investment and mismanagement at Électricité du Liban have abandoned any duty to provide safe, affordable power.

Lebanon’s electricity crisis is rooted in a deep structural flaw: the country imports nearly all its fuel, subsidizing it for years without building any resilience in return, making energy supply unpredictable and leaving the state exposed to price shocks it cannot absorb.

Private diesel generators, once a temporary fix, a permanent feature of daily life, yet neither fair nor regulated. A small number of generator owners now hold disproportionate power, controlling prices and availability with no oversight, so people pay whatever is demanded or go without.

Without completely disregarding the drastic environmental harm that these generators produce, which routinely exceed WHO guidelines by 5× in particulate matter of 2.5 micrometers or smaller (World Health Organization, 2021), let’s focus on what it means, financially, for households in Lebanon.

Since 2019, my family paid between LL 1,000,000 and LL 2,000,000 monthly (~$50-$100 at the time) for a flat-fee subscription that often failed to reflect true consumption. It covered a limited number of amperes, not usage, and even then power cuts remained frequent when the generator overheated or required maintenance. Our neighbors with fewer means faced a harsher choice: go without electricity or fall deeper into debt. In 2023, generator bills accounted for 44% of monthly household income—88% for the poorest—while others went without any subscription (Human Rights Watch, 2023)

The state has long lost control over electricity provision, and every reform attempt stumbles. The government even decreased the Energy Ministry’s budget as it’s overshadowed by private generators.

Hyperinflation, the pandemic, and rising fuel costs reduced imports, prioritizing the remaining fuel for private generators. Electricity demand fell by 52% because over half the population could no longer afford it.

…see that golden section that is slowly getting bigger? That’s decentralized solar energy demand.

This growth is a promising solution, but as of 2022, 44% of Lebanese citizens lived in poverty (World Bank, 2024). For many, affording a generator subscription is already a struggle—investing in solar remains out of reach. How do we amplify this momentum to conventionally adopt this new renewable energy resource?

• Restore full funding and authority to the Energy Ministry, enforce mandatory metering with penalties, and publish a transparent, fuel-cost–linked tariff formula.
• Launch grants and low-interest loans for rooftop PV and battery storage and expand net-metering so every home and business can sell surplus clean energy back to the grid.
• Encourage Lebanese citizens to invest in independent energy infrastructure they can maintain to reduce future dependency on government action.

Decentralized solar capacity in Lebanon grew from just 0.33 MW in 2010 to over 1,500 MW by 2023, proving the readiness of citizens to embrace alternatives.

This was facilitated mainly by proactive public intervention; solar systems currently offer a payback period of just 3–4 years, making them cleaner but more economically sound than generator usage (Albawaba, 2021). Even capital issues are slowly being remedied through initiatives such as solar loan schemes launched in 2022 (PV Magazine, 2022)

Despite the increase in solar capacity, there is still untapped potential!

Beyond solar loans, the most notable governmental intervention was in September 2021, when the government sought to require generator owners to install meters and charge based on real usage. Like many attempts before it, it failed, proving that Lebanon remains at the mercy of a government that urgently needs to act on both a threat to livelihood and an opportunity for sustainable economic and social renewal.

Although Lebanon officially boasts 100% electricity access, true access remains unreliable, unaffordable, and monopolized by private diesel generators that force families to devote up to 44% of their income just to keep the lights on. Public investment has collapsed, exposing citizens to unregulated, exploitative practices.

The surge of decentralized solar was driven by necessity as people reclaimed what the state abandoned.

To seize this moment, the government must empower the Energy Ministry, enforce robust regulations, and bolster households with grants and solar financing. Retraining generator owners to operate solar microgrids under strict anti-monopoly rules can turn today’s crisis into tomorrow’s clean-energy solution.

There is so much potential and capacity for solar power in Lebanon, specifically in Beirut! For those that live in Beirut or in its outskirts, look for your city and street!

Check how much energy your neighborhood can harness with PV!