Palestine Grid

In 2014, the West Bank depended almost wholly on the Israel Electric Corporation (IEC), while Gaza received electricity from Israel, its own generating station, and Egypt.[1] Jericho had connections to both the Israeli and Jordanian grids, and Rafah was connected to the Egyptian grid.[1] These connections did not eliminate exposure to regional fuel shortages: electricity deliveries from Jordan to Jericho were disrupted by interruptions in Egyptian natural-gas supplies to Jordan following pipeline sabotage in Sinai.[1]

Access to electricity and continuity of supply were markedly different measures of the sector’s performance: combined West Bank and Gaza electrification reached 100 percent in 2020, whereas Gaza continued to experience lengthy daily outages in May 2022.[2][4] Estimated combined figures for 2016 were 1.093 billion kilowatt-hours of production, 6.489 billion kilowatt-hours of consumption, and 5.473 billion kilowatt-hours of imports, with no exports.[4] Installed generating capacity was estimated at 170,000 kilowatts, including Gaza; fossil fuels accounted for 78 percent of installed capacity in the 2016 figures, while other renewable sources accounted for 22 percent in figures dated 2017.[4]

Commercial-scale electricity generation in Mandatory Palestine began in 1923 through the Palestine Electric Corporation, following its receipt of exclusive concessions for the Yarkon and Jordan rivers in September 1921.[5] Its first diesel station, in Tel Aviv, had a capacity of 750 kilowatts.[5] Generating capacity increased to 2,250 kilowatts in 1926, 16,200 in 1932, 63,000 in 1938, and 75,000 in 1947; the corporation eventually supplied electricity throughout the country except Jerusalem.[5]

The Palestinian Energy Authority was established by presidential decree in November 1994 and held formal responsibility for administering the electricity sector in the West Bank and Gaza.[1] The Gaza-Jericho Agreement provided for the Palestinian Authority (PA) to continue purchasing electricity, as appropriate, from the Jerusalem Electricity Company for Jericho.[6] Until an alternative system was established for Gaza, the PA was to purchase electricity temporarily from IEC under a commercial agreement covering debts, IEC property, and maintenance of lines serving Palestinian customers.[6] The provisions also covered IEC supply and line maintenance for Gush Katif and Kfar Darom, and maintenance of lines crossing the Jericho Area.[6]

Gaza’s power plant began operating in 2002 with a stated capacity of 140 megawatts.[1] An Israeli air strike damaged it in 2006 after the kidnapping of Gilad Shalit by militants linked to Hamas; repairs were completed by December 2007, when its capacity was reported as 80 megawatts.[1] In early 2006, Gaza’s maximum electricity supply had been approximately 210 megawatts, comprising about 90 megawatts from the plant and 120 megawatts from IEC, paid for by the PA.[7] Following the reduction in plant output, Egypt began supplying 17 megawatts, subsequently increasing to 20–30 megawatts, although maintenance regularly interrupted Egyptian deliveries.[7]

A March 2011 account placed Gaza’s supply shares at 44 percent from IEC, 50 percent from its local power station, and the remainder from Egypt.[8] The plant operated only partly on diesel, and conversion to natural gas required a pipeline.[8] By the period covered in a 2014 assessment, plant output was around 70 megawatts, Israeli supply approximately 120 megawatts, and Egyptian supply to Rafah about 17 megawatts.[1] Total supply was approximately 200–220 megawatts against estimated demand of 400 megawatts, with power cuts reaching 12 hours a day in 2013.[1]

During the 2014 Gaza fighting, eight of the ten high-voltage lines from Israel were reported out of service; the ten lines had a combined capacity of 120 megawatts.[9] Egypt was supplying 30 megawatts to Rafah, while Gaza’s peak demand was approximately 400 megawatts and pre-fighting supply had been about 200 megawatts.[9] The local plant’s fuel-storage tanks were destroyed.[9]

A September 2016 agreement between Israel’s Ministry of Finance, the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, and the PA, represented by its Minister of Civil Affairs, addressed Palestinian debt to IEC.[10] The debt had reached approximately NIS 2 billion; the agreement canceled about NIS 500 million and provided for repayment of the remainder.[10] It assigned the PA responsibility for collecting electricity payments and maintaining and developing the Palestinian network in the West Bank.[10]

Gaza’s supply crisis deepened in 2017: a July assessment placed supply at 120–142 megawatts against demand of 450 megawatts, with daily blackouts reaching 20 hours.[7] The power plant stopped operating in April amid a fuel-tax dispute between the PA and Gaza’s de facto authorities.[7] In June, the PA reduced payments for Israeli electricity by 25 percent, after which Israeli supply stood at approximately 80 megawatts.[7] Imported Egyptian fuel subsequently enabled plant output of about 55 megawatts, bringing total supply to approximately 127 megawatts, or 155 megawatts when Egyptian electricity lines were functioning.[7]

Three West Bank distribution companies identified in 2014 were the Northern Electricity Distribution Company (NEDCO), Jerusalem District Electric Company (JDECO), and Southern Electric Company (SELCO).[1] JDECO served East Jerusalem, Jericho, Ramallah, and Bethlehem.[1] Distribution systems required substantial investment, and estimated distribution losses in 2007 were approximately 25 percent.[1]

Gaza did not have a single electrical grid covering the entire Strip in the period described by the 2014 assessment, and its transmission infrastructure could not sustain even 140 megawatts.[1] The power plant south of Gaza City supplied much of the north, some Israeli electricity arrived along lines formerly connected to Israeli settlements, and Egyptian supplies to Rafah served the southern end.[1] Frequent blackouts encouraged reliance on emergency generators.[1]

On July 10, 2017, the first of four substations constructed by IEC for the PA was handed over in Jenin.[11] The four substations cost €40 million, funded entirely by the European Union.[11] The Jenin installation was intended initially to add approximately 60 megavolt-amperes of supply to northern Samaria, including the Jenin area and a planned industrial zone, with a Palestinian electricity-company team operating the station.[11] The remaining substations were being built in Ramallah, Tarqumiyah, and Nablus.[11]

A draft commercial agreement reported on May 1, 2018, envisaged a 15-year arrangement under which IEC would sell electricity and related services to the Palestine Electricity Transmission Company (PETL).[12] Deliveries would pass through four high-voltage substations and high- and low-voltage connection points for distribution to consumers in PA territory.[12] PETL would assume distribution and supply responsibilities, ownership of the four substations, and responsibility for their operation and maintenance.[12] The arrangement’s reported estimated value was approximately NIS 2.8 billion annually, including outstanding debt and guarantees for future debts; the PA was to repay NIS 915 million of historical debt in 48 equal installments after final signing.[12] The draft remained subject to approval by the relevant authorities.[12]

By May 2022, Gaza’s electricity sources included its power plant, IEC transmission lines, and solar energy, with substantial supplementary reliance on private diesel generators.[2] The plant had originally been designed to use natural gas from the Marin field in Gaza’s territorial waters, but continued to operate on diesel because the field had not been developed amid the absence of an agreement between the PA, Hamas, and Israel.[2] An estimate cited in 2022 placed solar generation at 25 percent of Gaza’s electricity, although deficiencies in the grid constrained its use; projected grid improvements cost $200 million.[2]

A Palestinian energy-sector master plan reported in November 2017 estimated that developing an energy system for the PA and Gaza would cost $3 billion and take until 2030.[3] Prepared through World Bank cooperation with the PA and assistance from Israeli and European groups, the plan sought energy security rather than energy independence, because fuel imports would remain necessary.[3] Its objectives included diversification of energy sources and greater resilience to shocks.[3] Palestinian electricity consumption was then growing by 3.5 percent annually, compared with 2.5 percent in Israel.[3]

Solar power was identified as a near-term local resource, with estimated West Bank potential of up to 500 megawatts from rooftop installations and 130 megawatts from ground installations in Areas A and B.[3] Using 3 percent of open space in Area C for solar fields was estimated to offer technical potential of 3,000 megawatts, although political and legal obstacles affected development.[3] A proposed rooftop-construction grant fund would be repaid over time through savings on more expensive alternative fuel and electricity.[3]

The same 2017 planning account described a privately developed power station in the Jenin area that had received necessary approvals for connection to a natural-gas pipeline after years of delay.[3] Its projected output was 450 megawatts, described as half the capacity then needed by the Palestinian population in the West Bank.[3] The station was designed to use gas from Israeli reservoirs or the Palestinian Gaza Marine reservoir, while further agreements were still required on matters including sales of surplus electricity to the Israeli grid.[3] An earlier, March 2011 proposal had described a 600-megawatt plant near Jenin.[8]

Gaza received electricity through ten IEC lines supplying 70 percent of consumption in the November 2017 account.[3] A proposed 161-kilovolt IEC line had been halted after Hamas took power, and completion depended on political approval and payment arrangements.[3] A separate July 2017 assessment projected 2020 demand at 550 megawatts under a low-growth scenario or 850 megawatts under a higher-growth scenario.[7] Its possible supply scenarios ranged from 210 megawatts to 280 megawatts with the proposed Israeli line, or 390 megawatts if the line, conversion of the plant to natural gas, a gas pipeline, and increased Egyptian supply all materialized.[7]

Planning described in June 2022 envisaged raising Gaza’s capacity to 790 megawatts by 2030, conditional on implementation of the Gas for Gaza plan.[2] Projected population growth and infrastructure requirements could nevertheless leave a remaining supply gap.[2]

Article 10 of the September 28, 1995 Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement contained differing bracketed Israeli and Palestinian formulations concerning grid ownership, property transfers, and responsibility for operating, maintaining, and developing the IEC grid.[13] It also stated that negotiations would continue after signing, so its alternatives do not establish a single implemented allocation of responsibilities.[13]

The proposed provisions covered Palestinian Energy Authority licensing and tariff-setting powers, construction of lines and power stations, and continued IEC supplies under a commercial agreement pending alternative supply arrangements.[13] A proposed Joint Electricity Subcommittee would address commercial arrangements, technical cooperation, and agreed system transfers, alongside rehabilitation of distribution networks and upgrades to protection and control systems.[13]