Lebanon’s Main Power Plants Shut Down

 

(NEWSER) – Lebanon’s two main power plants were forced to shut down after running out of fuel, the state electricity company said Saturday, leaving the small country with no government-produced power. "It is unlikely that it will work until next Monday, or for several days," the Guardian quotes an official as saying. Lebanon is grappling with a crippling energy crisis made worse by its dependency on fuel imports, reports the AP. 

Erratic power supplies have put hospitals and essential services in crisis mode. The Lebanese increasingly depend on private operators that also struggle to secure supplies amid an unprecedented crash of the national currency.

The shortage of diesel and fuel, along with an antiquated infrastructure, has worsened power cuts that have been a fixture for years. Blackouts that used to last for three to six hours could now leave entire areas with no more than two hours of state power a day. On Saturday, the state electricity company said Zahrani power plant in the country’s south was forced to shut down because of fuel shortage; the main plant in the north was shut down on Thursday.

Source: https://www.newser.com/story/312001/lebanons-power-is-out-for-days.html

Comprehension

Why were the Lebanon’s two main power plants forced to shut down?
What's the effect of Erratic power supplies to the
hospitals and essential service?
What other thing cause the power cut to worsen?
How long do blackouts last?

Discussion

What do you think of when you hear the word 'blackout'?
What do you think about what you read?
Have you ever experienced a power cut?
Do you ever have power cuts in your town?
What would we do without electricity?
How can you save some energy in your everyday life?
What would be the impact of 'blackout'?
Do you think we are too dependent on fuel?

Vocabulary

running out of - (of a supply of something) be used up.
unlikely - not likely to happen, be done, or be true; improbable.
crippling - causing a person to become unable to walk or move properly.
dependency - a dependent or subordinate thing, especially a country or province controlled by another.
Erratic - not even or regular in pattern or movement; unpredictable.
antiquated - old-fashioned or outdated.