What it costs to run a home in Lebanon each month

At official prices in autumn 2026, the bills for a family flat in Beirut come to about $350 a month on top of rent or a loan, in the worked example below. After building fees, the private generator is the biggest bill: about $122 for 200 kWh on a 5-amp subscription. Summer air conditioning can add about $200 a month, and heating a Bekaa home with diesel about $1,150 to $1,440 a winter.

A typical month for a family flat in Beirut

The assumptions behind each bar:

• Generator: 200 kWh a month on a 5-amp meter, at the Ministry of Energy's October 2026 tariff: 385,000 pounds fixed plus 52,622 pounds per kWh, or 10.9 million pounds.
• EDL: 100 kWh at 10 cents, plus 25 cents per ampere on a 15-amp subscription, before VAT and stamp duty.
• Cooking gas: 12.73 kg a month, the amount the World Food Programme budgets for a family of five, at the November 2026 cylinder price.
• Internet: Ogero's 300 GB plan, with 11% VAT, before the stamp fee.
• Water: the South Lebanon water establishment's 2026 fee of 16.75 million pounds a year, spread over 12 months. Beirut and Mount Lebanon Water's 2026 notice doesn't give its fee.
• Building fees: the median among the 135 Beirut apartment ads on Darna that state the fees. In the Metn, the median is $50.

That's about $350, or about $200 without building fees. Dollar figures use the Banque du Liban rate of 89,500 pounds.

Electricity: two bills

Most homes pay two electricity bills. EDL, the state utility, is cheap but rarely on: Al-Modon reported 2 to 4 hours of supply a day in October 2026. Private neighbourhood generators cover the rest, about two-thirds of the country's demand according to the Ministry of Energy's July 2026 policy note.

EDL bills 10 US cents per kWh for the first 100 kWh a month and 27 cents above that, plus 25 cents per ampere of your subscription. It converts the bill to pounds at the Banque du Liban rate and adds VAT and stamp duty. Even at best, bills arrive two to four months after the power was used. The government turned down a tariff rise in July 2026, so these prices still hold.

The generator is priced each month by the Ministry of Energy and Water, based on the price of diesel. For October 2026, the official tariff was:

Each extra 5 amps adds 300,000 pounds to the fixed fee. The owner may not add any other charge, and may not add VAT unless registered for it.

The tariff stayed between 31 and 37 cents through 2025, then jumped from March 2026 as the war in the region pushed diesel prices up. The tariff follows diesel, so the same 200 kWh cost about $68 in January 2026 and $122 in October.

What people actually pay often differs. Many generator owners refuse meters and charge a flat fee by amperage. In July 2026, Al-Modon found 5 amps costing about $150 in Beirut for 12 to 13 hours of supply a day and about $300 for round-the-clock power, with 10 amps above $400. Subscriptions without a meter ran $200 to $250. From January to mid-November 2025, the Economy Ministry wrote 634 violation reports in about 2,000 generator inspections.

Summer and winter

Use rises in both seasons. In a 2025 survey of 984 Lebanese households, not yet peer-reviewed, researchers from the American University of Beirut and partners found consumption about 11.5 kWh a day higher in summer and 6.3 kWh higher in winter than in autumn. Bought from the generator at October 2026's tariff, the summer extra comes to about $200 a month.

Heating depends on the altitude. On the coast, air conditioners and electric heaters show up in the electricity bills. In the Bekaa and the mountains, many homes heat with diesel or wood. Al-Modon reported in September 2026 that a home in the Bekaa needs at least 4 to 5 barrels of diesel a winter. At the 6 November 2026 price of 2,579,000 pounds per 20 litres, a 200-litre barrel costs about $288, so 4 to 5 barrels cost about $1,150 to $1,440 a winter. Al-Modon put it at about $1,600 at September prices. Wood costs $1,000 to $1,600 for the 4 to 5 tons a Bekaa winter takes.

Water

The public water subscription is a yearly bill from the regional water establishment. South Lebanon's 2026 bill is 16.75 million pounds a year for a one-cubic-metre subscription, about $187, which can be split into four instalments. Beirut and Mount Lebanon Water started collecting its 2026 bills in January. They can be paid in up to three instalments, the last due by the end of December.

Many homes also buy water by truck when the public supply runs short, especially in summer. In June 2025, An-Nahar found 2 cubic metres costing 800,000 to 1.1 million pounds in Beirut, with a family needing one load every three days. That's at least $80 a month on top of the subscription.

Ways to lower the bill

• Ask for a meter. On the official tariff you pay for what you use. The ministry's tariff is the price owners are meant to charge, and the Economy Ministry inspects them and writes up those who don't.
• Pick the right amperage. The fixed fee for 10 amps is 300,000 pounds a month more than for 5, before any extra power you use.
• Look at solar. At October 2026's tariff, every kWh from your own panels saves about 59 cents of generator power. The Lebanese Center for Energy Conservation put the average price of a solar system with batteries at $1,384 per kW of panels in 2023, and a kW of panels makes about 1,450 to 1,510 kWh a year in Lebanon.
• Check the building fees before you rent or buy. They can include the concierge, the lift and the building's own generator. Ask the building committee what they cover and whether anything is owed. More in renting an apartment in Lebanon.

Owners also pay a yearly built-property tax and municipal fees, explained in property tax in Lebanon. To compare areas, search homes for rent and filter by 24/7 electricity or solar.