Antoun el-Fata, "Akhbar al-Yawm" agency
Energy expert, lawyer Christina Abi Haidar, pointed out that "people should be encouraged to have a culture of purchasing suitable electrical appliances to rationalize energy consumption and save on electricity consumption" . The "energy rationalization" that the Lebanese citizen has adopted under duress, due to the high bills of private producers, must continue in the future and be exercised on official electricity bills.
She explained in an interview with the "Akhbar Al-Yawm" agency that "energy rationalization" does not require the elimination of electrical appliances currently in homes, which people enjoyed before the crisis, when electricity was still subsidized. But everyone who is forced to buy new tools should think about what allows them to save electricity consumption.
She pointed out that there is an Energy Conservation Act, which is a bill in the House of Representatives, and it needs more work from committees and parliament, as it needs to include the necessary incentives. regarding the import of environmentally friendly electrical appliances, and the reduction of related taxes.
In response to a question on the required role of the Ministry of Energy in the next governments, in this regard, Abi Haidar replied: The Ministry of Energy must be the main sponsor of the 'energy transition', which requires a change in the approach of the ministry and its strategy as well.
She added: If the law on distributed renewable energy is published as it should be, and (if) the production of clean energy is authorized through societal solutions rather than individual ones, Lebanon will be able to achieve the necessary qualitative change and to successfully accelerate the "energy transition".
And she concluded: "We no longer need new power plants, but to operate all current power plants as they should, in addition to activating alternative solutions such as wind power generation, sun and water, apart from projects of political quotas, and financial and immediate interests.