The state should finance the expected increase in electricity prices at the beginning of 2023 from the wealth fund and the gas rewards, so claims the Union of Chambers of Commerce ahead of the hearing to be held by the Electricity Authority.
In the position paper submitted yesterday, the union claims that the energy sector in Israel is suffering from complete chaos, from the failed conduct of the various government ministries and deliberate foot-dragging by the electric company.
Today will end the submission of public comments on the electricity tariff increase regarding the Electricity Authority's intention to increase the price of electricity by 8.2% - a total additional payment of approximately NIS 2.1 billion per year.
In a position paper prepared by the economic department of the Union of Chambers of Commerce in preparation for the hearing, it is claimed that "the increase in electricity rates will have a lateral effect in increasing costs for the average household by an average of NIS 800 per month. Also, this is an increase in production, import and sales costs in the economy."
Uriel Lin // Photo: Gideon Markovich,
According to Attorney Uriel Lin, President of the Association of Chambers of Commerce, "There is no reason or justification for businesses and the public in Israel to pay out of their own pockets for the chaos in the electricity sector in Israel, for the failures of the various governments and for the conduct of the electric company.
Today, everyone is talking about the magic word 'mashilot'.
Governance is also to ensure that the government's decisions regarding the energy sector are indeed carried out by the electric company."
In this context, it should be noted that Lin previously served as the Director General of the Ministry of Energy and as the one who led the transition from fuel oil to coal.
Unhealthy competition
In the position paper, the Association of Chambers of Commerce refers to the unhealthy competition, as it were, that exists between the regulators and government ministries operating in the field of energy and electricity in Israel.
"As of today, there are several parties that are involved regulatory in the management of the electricity market: the Ministry of Energy, the Ministry of Environmental Protection, the Electricity Authority, the Electric Company and the system manager. This causes open competition and contradiction in decision-making."
The union claims that "it is necessary to establish one comprehensive body to handle all issues of energy management in Israel, including production and supply of electricity, vehicles and energy efficiency."
"government intervention"
Regarding the Electric Company, in the hearing document the Electric Authority states that the Electric Company is not meeting the schedule for converting coal-fired plants to gas and no alternative production capacity for coal has been established - which means the continued use of coal-fired plants.
The consulting company BDO estimates that speeding up the rate of conversion of coal plants to use gas can save the economy about NIS 4 billion, which is about 15% of the cost of electricity production.
The Union of Chambers of Commerce claims that "the workers' councils at the electric company are in no hurry to promote the conversion, and there is currently no system that rewards employees based on efficiency. Therefore, government intervention is required."
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