The media office of the Ministry of Energy and Water responded to positions issued by the “Free Patriotic Movement” and the media affiliated with it regarding the repeated expedited draft law aimed at opening an additional appropriation in the general budget reserve section for the year 2026, stressing that the project does not constitute a debt or an advance, but rather aims to pay part of the Electricité du Liban’s dues accumulated on public administrations and institutions, in addition to covering exemptions from the south and repairing the damages resulting from the war. The Minister of Finance requests an appropriation of $100 million to be deducted from the 2026 budget reserve, to help public administrations pay their due and unpaid bills to the Electricité du Liban. The Ministry accused the Free Patriotic Movement of misleading citizens and distorting the facts, considering that the additional credit comes to pay financial liabilities that fall on the state for the benefit of the Electricité du Liban, and not to increase the public debt. Regarding MP Cesar Abi Khalil’s statements about the electricity sector’s operating capital amounting to approximately $700 million after the adoption of the moving tariff in 2022, the Ministry explained that the corporation’s operating capital was approximately $88 million and 693 million Lebanese pounds when Minister Joe Al-Saddi assumed his duties on February 13, 2025. The Ministry called on the ministers of the Free Patriotic Movement to explain the reasons for the decline in this amount and the accumulation of arrears on public institutions, noting that Al-Saddi inherited debts to the interest of Iraq worth one billion and 115 million dollars, resulting from the existing contract between Lebanon and Iraq and the failure to adhere to the payment mechanism. The global price of diesel rose from the range of $680 per ton that the corporation adopted in its estimates for the year 2026 to approximately $1,500, according to a statement by the corporation carried by L’Orient Today. The Ministry confirmed that Al-Sadi adopted a “zero debt” policy, and that the Electricité du Liban was able in February 2026 to secure between 7 and 9 hours of food daily, based on collection revenues, without resorting to debt. She also stressed that the decision to cut off electricity to public departments and institutions that failed to pay their dues came within the framework of restoring the effectiveness of the institution and implementing the law, stressing that Minister Al-Saddi directed this measure to be taken and provided him with full support.