Joe Saddi, Lebanon's Minister of Energy and Water, said Beirut is close to signing a deal to import electricity from Syria. He said he is working with Damascus and that the contract is almost ready. A source at the ministry said the volume of electricity to be imported has not yet been finalised.
No date has been set for signing, and the reported agreement still needs to be completed before any power crosses the border. Saddi framed the talks as part of a wider effort to strengthen Lebanon's energy sector rather than a single purchase.
A New Chapter Between Beirut and Damascus
The reported deal lands during a rapid warming of relations between the two neighbours. Last week Lebanon and Syria set up a committee to expand cooperation on politics, the economy and security. A visit by Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Al Shibani to Lebanon in the same week gave the push a public face.
For decades Syria held heavy influence over Lebanese affairs. Assad regime forces occupied Lebanon from 1976 to 2005, and Bashar Al Assad's rule ended in December 2024 when rebels, Al Shibani among them, took power in Damascus. Senior Syrian officials have since told Beirut that Damascus has no plan to act against Hezbollah inside Lebanon, an idea floated by US President Donald Trump.
The Arab Gas Pipeline Comes Back Into View
Electricity is not the only energy file on the table. Saddi pointed to a separate effort with Syria and Jordan to revive the Arab Gas Pipeline, and said talks between the three countries have run for months. In May, Egypt and Lebanon signed a contract to restart the project, which would carry Egyptian gas to Lebanon through Jordan and Syria. That plan stalled in 2011 after the Syrian civil war broke out.
Years of Blackouts and a Fragile Grid
Lebanon has struggled to keep the lights on for decades. Much of its power infrastructure was wrecked during the 1975 to 1990 civil war and never fully rebuilt, leaving the state grid able to supply only a few hours of electricity a day. Some facilities in southern Lebanon have been hit by Israeli strikes during the current war.
Households and businesses that can afford it rely on private diesel generators, but those are exposed to global fuel shocks. When the Strait of Hormuz was closed, energy prices jumped sharply in Lebanon and elsewhere, and countries already in economic distress felt the hit hardest.
Even so, Saddi said Lebanon avoided fuel shortages through the war and the Hormuz crisis. "No queues were recorded at gas stations and no black market emerged," he said, adding that it would be the first time in years the country had passed through wartime conditions without such problems.
Source: https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/2026/07/08/lebanon-inches-closer-to-electricity-import-deal-with-syria/
