Gov't approves emergency measures for electricity market

The government approved on Sunday a number of emergency measures designed to ensure that the halt of Israel's gas supply from Egypt does not cause a major electricity shortage this summer. The emergency protocol allows the government to intervene in the operations schedule of Israel's ports and permits the Israel Electric Corporation to use more pollutant fuel sources. Related stories: IEC prepares for electricity 'drought' IEC eyes converting Reading back to fuel oil Egypt offers to sell gas to Israel at new price At the last minute, ministers approved two alterations to the energy and water minister's proposal: the existing maximum production capacity for solar energy units was increased from 30 megawatts to 35 megawatts, and the deadline for installing such units was extended until August 1. Specific dates have been stipulated for the "emergency period": from the beginning of June through the end of October. Hadera power plant (Photo: George Ginsburg) The emergency measures were put in place in response to the severe shortage of fuel for the production of electricity caused by the halt to the natural gas flow from Egypt. For now, the IEC is producing electricity from oil and coal, which are not only more polluting than natural gas, but also more expensive. Moreover, the IEC's generators must be refurbished to operate on oil and coal, and the time and cost required for the overhaul means that the IEC is not prepared to meet the country's electricity demand this summer. Energy and Water Minister Uzi Landau has been asked to speak with major electricity consumers such as factories about ways they cut electricity consumption this summer, and is also expected to push a campaign urging the public to save energy. Landau will also be permitted to expedite fuel unloading at Israel's ports to ensure that large companies' private power plants have sufficient raw material. Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz has been granted the same authority, with a mandate to ensure that the IEC's power plants have sufficient fuel to produce electricity. The CEO of the Defense Ministry has been instructed to divert the IDF's surplus energy to the private sector and discuss energy-saving measures with Landau. In addition, the Defense Ministry will make some of the army's generators available in the event of an electricity shortage. The Interior Minister will ease regulations for the construction of new turbines, and the Environmental Protection Minister has been instructed to allow more non-green fuel to be used for the production of electricity. Environmental Protection Minister Gilad Erdan said at the opening of the cabinet meeting that before he was asked to authorize more pollutants, the Gaza Strip – which gets its electricity from the IEC – should have its supply cut off. "Take care of your own needs first," Erdan told the ministers. "It's unreasonable that if there's an electricity shortage, we'll cut off the supply to Israelis – but not to Gaza, which we left seven years ago and have no responsibility for." Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter