BEIRUT: Large areas of administrative Beirut as well as parts of the southern suburbs and the northern Metn coast are without power Thursday with fears that an ongoing strike will delay repairs.

Electricite du Liban said in a statement Thursday that the cuts were caused by a fault in the 220-KW cable that links the main stations between Aramoun, just outside Beirut, and Horsh Beirut.

EDL said the company was unable to repair the fault because of the ongoing strike by part-time electricity employees.

On Wednesday, EDL warned that Lebanon is sinking into darkness as a harsh winter storm sweeping across the country cut power to thousands of Lebanese.

“As the storm accelerates, failures have been increasing exponentially on electricity networks across Lebanon, including administrative Beirut,” the state-run electricity company EDL said Wednesday.

It said failures have led to power cuts in large parts of Lebanon and subjected other areas to harsher rationing.