Despite protests, Mansourieh power lines go live

ENAR

On June 17, in Mansourieh, the last 2 km power line link went live in the 369 km, 220 kilovolt (kv) loop that runs from the south of the country up to the north, out to the Bekaa Valley, and connects Lebanon’s network to Syria. For 17 years, the government has been trying to close this loop, with this latest move prompted by attempts to implement the new electricity plan adopted in April. Mansourieh residents, however, have been protesting the construction for years, citing potential health risks, specifically a possible relation to increased childhood leukemia. Minister of Energy and Water Nada Boustani tells Executive that completing the loop will increase current carrying capacities on the network as a whole and increase the network’s stability. The government’s new electricity plan seems to have provided impetus to finally complete this last link of the “electrical highway” that connects the country. Ramzi Dobeissy,