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US sanctions waiver could pave way for Syria grid upgrade

8 January 2025

The US government’s recent move to waive certain sanctions covering the provision of basic services in Syria could pave the way for the ongoing plan to improve the electricity grid interconnection between Syria and Jordan.

“The waiver [could] pave the way for Jordan and Syria, which are currently working on improving the electricity grid interconnection to supply electricity to Syria,” notes Jessica Obeid, a partner at Dubai-headquartered New Energy Consult.

Obeid says Syria’s supply shortage is acute, with some areas receiving only three hours of electricity a day.

“The waiver is supposedly for six months. But it’s worth noting that the transmission grid on the Syrian side needs rehabilitation and expansion, which would take several months,” Obeid said in a social media post on 7 January.

The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (Ofac) issued Syria General Licence (GL) 24 to expand authorisations for activities and transactions in Syria following the collapse of the Baathist regime and the departure of President Bashar Al-Assad on 8 December.

GL 24 is expected to help ensure that sanctions do not impede essential services and continuity of governance functions across Syria, including the provision of electricity, energy, water and sanitation.

“This action underscores the United States’ commitment to ensuring that US sanctions do not impede activities to meet basic human needs, including the provision of public services or humanitarian assistance,” Ofac said in a statement on 6 January.

“This authorisation is for six months, as the US government continues to monitor the evolving situation on the ground.”

Ofac stated that the authorisation does not unblock the property or interest in property of any blocked person under any of its sanctions programmes, “including Assad and his associates, the Government of Syria, Central Bank of Syria, or Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS)”.

It also does not authorise any financial transfers to any blocked person other than for the purpose “of effecting certain authorised payments to governing institutions or associated service providers in Syria”. 

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Jennifer Aguinaldo

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