What can I do if my generator owner overcharges or has no meter?

Also asked as: “Generator owner overcharging complaint Lebanon” · “My generator owner won't install a meter” · “Can the generator owner charge extra fees?” · “Where to report a generator owner in Lebanon”

How to tell whether you are overcharged#

The official tariff is a metered tariff. Your monthly bill should be a fixed part set by your amperage, plus the kWh you used multiplied by the price per kWh^[1]. The fixed part is the same in cities and villages, but the price per kWh is higher in villages, remote areas and places above 700 m^[1,3]. The ministry sets the numbers each month from the average price of diesel and the average parallel-market dollar rate, under Council of Ministers Decision No. 2 of 14/12/2011.

To check a bill, get your amperage, the kWh the meter recorded and the price per kWh charged from the operator. Then find the tariff for the same month, do the sum and compare. The latest figures are on this month's generator tariff.

Without a meter, you have no way to check your usage. The National reported in October 2026 that many operators charge a fixed monthly rate by amperage instead of metering^[2]. The official tariff has no flat option: it is always a fixed part plus kWh^[1]. More on the difference in meter or flat ampere rate.

What the ministry says an operator cannot add#

In its notice published on 1 October 2026, the Ministry of Energy and Water listed three charges a generator owner may not add to the tariff. VAT is barred unless the operator is officially registered with the Ministry of Finance's VAT directorate. Extra fees under any pretext, such as generator or network maintenance, are barred, and so are extra fees for subscribers who also use solar power^[1]. A "maintenance" line or a solar surcharge on your bill goes against that notice.

Meters are mandatory under a Ministry of Economy and Trade decision, and the Energy Ministry's notice told generator owners to obey it^[1,2]. We did not find the decision's number or date, so you cannot quote it by number.

In a building, an older rule may help. In October 2022 the ministry told owners that lifts and common areas on a three-phase supply are charged on the single-phase rating: 3x15 A charged as 15 A^[4]. We have not seen whether the September 2026 notice repeats it, so ask the operator to show you the rule they apply now.

Why complaints are hard, and whom to ask#

The National reported in October 2026 that the ministry's tariffs had risen almost 60% in six months, and that many operators ignore them or do not install the mandatory meters^[2]. The same report mentions occasional government crackdowns for overcharging and missing meters, but says operators have largely set prices at their discretion. It names no complaint route for consumers.

We found no hotline, form or office for generator complaints, and no confirmed penalty. The likely places to ask are the municipality, the Ministry of Economy and Trade's consumer protection staff and the Energy Ministry, though none is confirmed. When you call, ask who takes complaints about a private generator operator's prices and missing meter in your area, what proof they need, and what happens after you file.

If the generator belongs to your building and not to a private operator, running and maintaining shared equipment is a matter for the owners' association, on one reading of the co-ownership decree^[5,6]. Raise it with the association president. Tenants can read who pays for the generator and common areas.