Lebanon's state electricity company said on Saturday that its power plants had stopped working after protesters stormed a key substation and tampered with electrical equipment. The nation is already grappling with power cuts that last at least 20 hours a day, owing largely to a financial crisis that has hampered key imports, including fuel for <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/mena/2021/12/29/lebanon-to-begin-pipeline-renovation-to-import-gas-from-egypt/" target="_blank">power stations</a>. Demonstrators angered by the power shortages stormed an Electricite du Liban substation in the Aramoun region north of Beirut on Saturday, the utility said. “Protesters disconnected a 150-220 kilovolt power transformer and opened circuit breakers connecting the Zahrani power plant to the Aramoun station,” it said. “This caused disturbances on the electrical grid, which led to a total blackout across Lebanese territory as of 17:27 (1527 GMT)". The disruption will pile more pressure on operators of <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/mena/lebanon/2021/11/30/lebanon-to-request-600m-loan-for-regional-energy-deal-minister-says/" target="_blank">private generators</a>, which are already struggling to keep up with the near-total absence of state-produced power. Private generator owners have increased prices and rationed supply in recent months, with costs surging after the government gradually lifted fuel subsidies. The average generator bill for a Lebanese family usually adds up to more than the monthly minimum wage of 675,000 Lebanese pounds — now worth just $22 as the local currency hits record lows against the dollar on the black market. The international community has long demanded a complete overhaul of Lebanon's electricity sector, which has cost the government more than $40 billion since the end of the 1975-1990 civil war. Lebanon has reached an agreement on bringing Jordanian electricity and Egyptian gas into the country via war-torn Syria, while Shiite movement Hezbollah has separately been sourcing oil deliveries from Iran.