Last update - 00:00 26/09/2006
W. Bank city of Jericho to connect to Jordanian electricity grid
By Sharon Kedmi, Haaretz Correspondent
National Infrastructures Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer on Monday approved connecting the town of Jericho to the Jordanian electricity grid. Thus, the West Bank town will no longer be solely dependent on the Israel Electric Company for its electricity supplies.
The connection will run along a 33 kilowatt high tension wire. The East Jerusalem Electric Company, which will operate the connection, has negotiated over the past several months with the Jordanian electric company and senior Jordanian government representatives, including King Abdullah II, the prime minister and the energy minister who approved the project.
The company holds the license, which the Infrastructures Ministry awarded it to supply residents of East Jerusalem, Ramallah, Bethlehem and Jericho.
The ministry noted that this operation was meant to boost the company's supply resources. The company currently purchases all of its electricity from the Israel Electric Corporation. The project is expected to cut costs and relieve some of the pressure on the Israeli electricity generation system.
The ministry stressed it was the first step in realizing the government decision to import electricity from neighboring states. "While there's no supplying energy for Israeli consumers, it is still a trade relationship in the electricity field between a neighboring country and Israeli society", it noted.