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From Town Tools. For the current version, visit https://www.towntools.org/beirut-beirut-lb/generator-bill
Almost every building in Beirut buys electricity from a private diesel generator, on a subscription priced by amperage. The Ministry of Energy and Water sets a maximum price each month. Put in what you used and see what the bill should be — and check whether your operator is charging over the official ceiling.
Read it off your generator meter, or from the kWh figure on last month's bill. A small flat with a fridge, lights and fans uses far less than one running air-conditioning day and night.
What your bill should be
Official maximum for September 2026
LBP 10,953,000
$122.11 at the official rate
a month
Subscription
LBP 385,000
Usage (200 kWh)
LBP 10,568,000
Total
LBP 10,953,000
In fresh dollars, at the official exchange rate.
This is the legal maximum the Ministry of Energy and Water set for September 2026. The tariff changes every month with diesel prices — check the latest below.
Read from the Ministry of Energy and Water’s own tariff table, published 1 October 2026. Set from this month’s diesel price of LBP 2,675,217 per 20 litres.
Read from the Ministry of Energy and Water's own tariff table.
Is your operator overcharging?
Enter what your operator actually charges to compare it with the official maximum.
Leave blank if your operator charges no fixed fee.
Enter your operator’s per-kWh rate above to compare.
A calculator, not advice
This is a calculator using the official monthly maximum tariff — it is not advice, and not your actual bill. The ministry resets the tariff every month with diesel prices, so this is the figure for the month shown; check the latest before you compare.
Worth knowing
The official tariff is a ceiling, not a fixed price
Each month the Ministry of Energy and Water publishes a maximum the generator can charge per kilowatt-hour, tied to the price of diesel, plus the fixed monthly fee for your amperage. An operator may charge less than the ceiling, but charging more is against the rules. Generators above 700 metres or in rural areas are allowed to add 10% — most of Beirut is at sea level, so the city rate applies.
Source: Ministry of Energy and Water monthly tariff (May 2026), checked 18 June 2026 (3 months ago).
Operators are now meant to bill by the meter
After thousands of complaints, the government's 2025 crackdown on generator overcharging requires operators to install a meter for each subscriber and bill by the kilowatt-hour, not a flat guess. If your operator has not installed a meter, that is part of what the rules were meant to fix.
It is read from the ministry's own tariff table each time this page is built, so it follows the ministry rather than waiting for anyone to retype it. The date the ministry issued it is printed above. The new month's figure usually reaches the press a few days before it reaches that table — the links below are where to look in the meantime.