By Jaafar Sadaqa
RAMALLAH, June 5, 2017 (WAFA) – Zafer Melhem, acting chairman of Palestinian Energy and Natural Resources Authority (PENRA) said plans to solve the electricity crisis in Gaza and improve efficiency are ready but Hamas is obstructing them.
Speaking to WAFA, Melhem said the Palestinian government will not continue to pay for electricity in the Gaza Strip while Hamas collects the bills from the customers without transferring the money to the treasury and exempts its leaders and people of influence from paying for electricity.
“We have a ready plan to increase capacity of electricity coming from Israel by about 240 megawatts and to extend a pipeline to feed Gaza’s power plant with gas instead of heavy fuel, in addition to expand the grid lines with Egypt at a later stage,” Melhem said.
He said that “we have reached an agreement with the Israelis on this and everything was ready. But they asked for guarantees for payment. The government will not give such guarantees. The electricity distribution company in Gaza is the one supposed to give these guarantees and not the government.”
The electricity distribution company is owned by the government by 51 percent of the shares while the remaining 49 percent is owned by the municipalities. However, he said, Hamas has taken control of the company since its takeover of Gaza in 2007.
While the Gaza Strip needs 550 megawatt of electricity, only 143 megawatt are currently available, that is a deficit of 75 percent, most of it coming from Israel following the stoppage in the work of the power plant.
Melhem said that the solution to the electricity crisis in Gaza and improving efficiency is not possible unless the reconciliation government is fully in control of the Gaza Strip, and as long as the electricity distribution company, which collects the bills, does not transfer the revenues to the government treasury.
He noted that the unpaid bills, especially bills for government institutions and powerful figures, as well as the money collected by the company but was not transferred, are able to solve the problem.
He noted that the government pays 100% of the electricity bill in Gaza, which amounts to around $100 million bought from Israel, $10 million from Egypt, $30 million purchased from the Power Plant, in addition to $70 million from exemption of the excise tax fuel, the Blu.
Melhem said that the debt of the distribution company over the past 10 years since Hamas took over control of Gaza amounts to $1 billion, while $700 million that was collected in bills was not transferred to the treasury.
“We do not relieve the Israeli occupation from the responsibility for the consequences of Gaza siege,” he said. “But one of the main reasons for the electricity crisis is the fact that the government has not been able to collect the bills. There is a law and there is the higher council in charge of regulating the power sector and charges. But the ones who control the electricity sector in Gaza do not abide by any of them.
“In order for the electricity crisis to be solved, the government should be enabled to fulfill its duties in the Gaza Strip,” he added, noting that PENRA does not impose any precondition in this regard.
He added the government briefed international institutions and envoys on the real causes of the electricity crisis, prompting them to contact Hamas and the Hamas-run energy authority in Gaza.
He said the Hamas-run energy authority response to these contacts was misleading, claiming that it had accepted the government-set preconditions to solve the crisis, even though the government did not have any preconditions for solving the crisis other than to allow it to do its work.
He noted that the proposals submitted by the Hamas-run energy authority did not contribute to solving the crisis.
“Not only did their proposals maintain the current situation, they also placed additional burdens on the government without even committing to transfer the electricity fees they collect to the government.”
Melhem said the Hamas-run energy authority proposed expanding the electricity grid with the Israel Electrical Corporation, buying fuel for Gaza power plant without taxes and providing the distribution company with 40,000 electricity meters, which would cost about $6,000,000.
“These proposals would in fact consolidate the intra-Palestinian division, especially among electricity sector institutions, and impose additional financial burdens on the government, without any commitment from the energy authority in Gaza to transfer the money that would cover costs or to buy fuel or the meters, nor to turn over the full authority of the Gaza power PENRA,” he said.
“We will not tolerate the continuation of the status quo, let alone add further burdens. We will not take any steps without clear commitment that would enable the government to do its work and to transfer the funds to the treasury,” said Melhem.
M.N./K.T./K.F./M.K.
