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Lights come back on in Lebanon after millions hit by 24-hour blackout

Lights come back on in Lebanon after millions hit by 24-hour blackout
The nation was plunged into darkness on Saturday (Pictures: AFP/Getty)

The power supply has been restored in Lebanon after a nationwide outage saw the country plunged into darkness for 24 hours on Saturday.

The national grid shut down entirely when the nation’s two largest power stations, the Zahrani and Deir Ammar plants, ground to a halt after running out of fuel.

The blackout left millions in near total darkness, piling further misery on a population already struggling with unemployment and hunger caused by rising prices and financial meltdown.

Lebanon’s energy ministry said the power supplies were back to normal on Sunday.

It said it had received more than £70 million in credit to issue fuel import tenders to restart the generators.

The ministry added that the grid is now supplying as much electricity as it had been before the outage.

FILE - In this Monday, March 29, 2021 file photo, the capital city of Beirut remains in darkness during a power outage as the sun sets, in Lebanon. The state electricity company said Saturday, Oct. 9, 2021, that Lebanon's two main power plants were forced to shut down after running out of fuel, leaving the small country with no government-produced power. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar, File)
The capital city of Beirut was plunged into darkness (Picture: AP)
(FILES) This file photo taken on April 3, 2021 shows an aerial view shows Lebanon's capital Beirut in darkness during power outage. - Lebanon was plunged into a total blackout today after two main power stations went offline because they ran out of fuel, the state electricity corporation said. (Photo by Dylan COLLINS / AFP) (Photo by DYLAN COLLINS/AFP via Getty Images)
The nationwide outage came after the two main power stations ran out of fuel (Picture: AFP via Getty)
A customer uses her phone's torch light in a grocery store during a power cut near Bhamdoun, Lebanon, October 9, 2021. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
The blackout had been expected to last for days (Picture: Reuters)
BEIRUT, LEBANON - OCTOBER 09: A view of the city during power cuts due to the fuel shortage and problems in the supply of fuel in Beirut, Lebanon on October 09, 2021. (Photo by Mahmut Geldi/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
The power supply was restored on Sunday (Picture: Anadolu Agency via Getty)

Blackouts have been a problem in Lebanon since 1990, when the 15-year civil war ended, and the country relies heavily on imported fuel.

Many people use private diesel generators, but that too is in short supply.

At least 20 people died back in August when a tank exploded at a warehouse in the north of the country that had been housing illegally-stored fuel.

BEIRUT, LEBANON - OCTOBER 09: A view of the city during power cuts due to the fuel shortage and problems in the supply of fuel in Beirut, Lebanon on October 09, 2021. (Photo by Mahmut Geldi/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
The power plants were said to be back to pre-outage production levels (Picture: Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
(FILES) In this file photo taken on September 18, 2021, an oil tanker carrying fuel oil from Iraq, is seen anchored near the Zahrani power plant in Zahrani near the southern Lebanese city of Sidon (Saida). - Lebanon was plunged into a total blackout today after two main power stations went offline because they ran out of fuel, the state electricity corporation said. (Photo by Mahmoud ZAYYAT / AFP) (Photo by MAHMOUD ZAYYAT/AFP via Getty Images)
An oil tanker carrying fuel oil from Iraq seen anchored near the Zahrani power plant (Picture: AFP via Getty)

It is part of a wider economic and political crisis affecting all aspects of daily life in Lebanon, where the UN estimates that 78% of the population is living in poverty.

The country’s currency has collapsed and unemployment and inflation is soaring amid vast discontent at a political system long accused of negligence and corruption.

Lebanon remains in political turmoil after a temporary government was installed following the catastrophic explosion in the capital Beirut that killed more than 150 people and destroyed large parts of the city last August.

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