Manufacturers Association President Ron Tomer yesterday appealed to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who heads the ministerial committee to combat the cost of living, to reduce the electricity tariff for consumers immediately.
This followed reports on the results of the tender for the sale of the Eshkol power station to private entities.
According to the results of the tender, the Eshkol station will be sold for NIS 12.4 billion and NIS 7 billion if the company that won the tender withdraws and the company that came in second place wins. According to calculations by the Manufacturers Association, it will be possible to reduce the electricity tariff by between about 10% (based on a price of NIS 12.4 billion) and 6% (if Eshkol is sold for NIS 7 billion) over the next four years.
Netanyahu // Photo: Gideon Markowitz // Netanyahu,
It should be noted that the Electricity Authority, the independent body responsible, inter alia, for setting the electricity tariff for consumers, issued an announcement on the day the results of the Eshkol power station tender were published. According to the Authority's announcement, it is necessary to wait for the financial closing of the deal and the transfer of ownership, which, according to the Authority, will happen only in December of this year. Therefore, the authority estimates that "the revenues from the sale of the site will be reflected in a reduction in the tariff towards January 2024."
Act now
On the other hand, the Manufacturers Association is asking Prime Minister Netanyahu not to wait until January 2024 and to act immediately to lower the tariff, reminding him of election promises to freeze the generators of inflation. "At this time of local and global price increases and the increase in the cost of production inputs, we will ask to reduce the electricity tariff by at least 6%, while lowering the sale price of the Eshkol power station from the recognized cost of the Electricity Authority's indices," writes the association's president, Dr. Ron Tomer.
Ron Tomer, President of the Manufacturers Association, Photo: Oren Ben Hakon
"Following the government's declarations close to its swearing-in on freezing the inflation generators, and in light of the expected increase of 3.1 per cent in the price of water and 2.68 per cent in the Arnona tariff, we request that the Ministerial Committee for Combating the Cost of Living discuss ways to freeze water and municipal taxes in its capacity, as determined in the government's decision to establish the committee." Recall that the electricity tariff increased by 8.8 per cent in August 2022 and by 8.2 per cent in January 2023.
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