The National Litani River Authority announced that the total production of its hydroelectric power plants during the month of August 2026 amounted to about 33 million kilowatt hours, explaining that this production was achieved by relying mainly on the reserves of Lake Qaraoun, in light of the cessation of the flow of water from the Litani River into the lake and the decline in the discharge coming into it to zero.
The authority indicated that the total quantities of water consumed from the lake during the month amounted to about 21 million cubic meters, of which about 19 million cubic meters were used to produce hydroelectric power in the Abdel-Al, Arqash, and Helu plants, while the difference is mainly due to the loss resulting from natural evaporation from the surface of the lake.
Ain Zarqa water was also diverted to meet the irrigation needs of the Al Qasimiya project.
The authority pointed out that the reserve of Lake Qaraoun amounted to about 91 million cubic meters at the end of August, while approximately 50 million cubic meters must be preserved as a strategic reserve for the coming year, leaving about 41 million cubic meters usable during the remaining months of the current year, within a calculated management of the reserve.
Based on these data, the Authority is working to reprogram the quantities of water allocated for hydroelectric energy production during the months of September, October, November and December, in a way that ensures the sustainability of production and at the same time preserves the strategic reserve of Lake Qaraoun.
To this end, the Authority will adopt an operational capacity of up to 30 megawatts instead of about 40 megawatts currently approved, which allows rationalizing the use of the remaining water and distributing it over the coming months in a way that ensures the continuity of production without affecting the water reserve that must be preserved for the coming year.
The authority stressed that the management of hydropower production will remain based on a balanced equation between investing in available water resources, ensuring continuity of production, and preserving the strategic reserve.
