GAZA ESTIMATES $450M LOSSES FOR ELECTRICITY SECTOR

Sat 21 December 2024:

The Gaza Electricity Distribution Company has estimated losses of $450 million across the sector over the past 14 months, the Palestinian Information Centre has reported. The figure is understandably an estimate due to the ongoing Israeli genocide in Gaza and the difficulty in documenting all losses. The process of restoring electricity will occur in several phases, said the company, with the first phase expected to take six months if the necessary equipment is available.

According to Mohammad Thabet, the company’s Director of Public Relations and Media, up to 90 per cent of its buildings and equipment have been totally or partially destroyed by the Israeli occupation forces. The equipment destroyed includes trucks and cranes essential for network repair and extension work.

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At least 68% of the electrical networks at both low and medium voltage levels, as well as a 100% loss in the operation and control sector, sit alongside equivalent losses in the commercial sector of the company in Gaza.

The process of restoring electricity supplies after the war, said Thabet, will begin with re-establishing lines for essential and vital services, but he stressed again that the necessary equipment must be allowed into the Gaza Strip before that can be done.

The estimated losses are limited to the company’s sector in Gaza, while there are no clear losses related to the energy sector concerning production, particularly at the only power plant located near the Wadi Gaza area, which is targeted continuously by the occupation state.

The former Defence Minister of the occupation state, Yoav Gallant, announced last October that he would cut off electricity supplies to Gaza completely, and halt fuel supplies that power the only power station, turning the Strip into a completely dark area just days later. Supplies have not been restored, despite Israel having a legal duty under international law to provide basic essentials to the people living under its military occupation. The very limited supplies of electricity over the past fourteen months have come from alternative sources like solar energy and some diesel emergency generators, subject to the availability of fuel to run them.

The electricity outage in Gaza has affected 2.4 million Palestinians, with every aspect of life hit negatively. The health sector especially has been hit badly by the lack of sufficient electricity and fuel to run emergency generators.

Even before the ongoing Israeli war in Gaza, there have been recurring energy crises due to the lack of spare parts for repairs, which have been blocked by 18 years of the occupation state’s blockade. Electricity supplies from Egypt have been stopped for years.

According to the Gaza Electricity Distribution Company and the Energy Authority, the Gaza Strip’s needs range from 400 to 500 megawatts, reaching up to 600 megawatts during peak usage in winter and summer. The available supply from various Egyptian and Israeli sources, along with production from the power station, never exceeds 250 megawatts.

-MEMO

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