Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06JERUSALEM2604
2006-06-23 14:05:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Consulate Jerusalem
Cable title:  

LOOKING TO PLUG IN: PALESTINIANS SEEK ALTERNATIVE

Tags:  ENRG EAID PGOV KWBG JO EG 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXYZ0000
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHJM #2604/01 1741405
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 231405Z JUN 06
FM AMCONSUL JERUSALEM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 2977
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC IMMEDIATE
C O N F I D E N T I A L JERUSALEM 002604 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE; NEA/IPA FOR
WILLIAMS/GREENE/WATERS/WAECHTER; NEA/RA FOR CLAWSON; NSC
FOR ABRAMS/DORAN/LOGERFO; TREASURY FOR NUGENT/ADKINS; USAID
FOR BORODIN

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/20/2016
TAGS: ENRG EAID PGOV KWBG JO EG
SUBJECT: LOOKING TO PLUG IN: PALESTINIANS SEEK ALTERNATIVE
SOURCES OF ENERGY FROM EGYPT AND JORDAN

REF: 2005 JERUSALEM 05829

Classified By: Consul General Jake Walles for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).

C O N F I D E N T I A L JERUSALEM 002604

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE; NEA/IPA FOR
WILLIAMS/GREENE/WATERS/WAECHTER; NEA/RA FOR CLAWSON; NSC
FOR ABRAMS/DORAN/LOGERFO; TREASURY FOR NUGENT/ADKINS; USAID
FOR BORODIN

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/20/2016
TAGS: ENRG EAID PGOV KWBG JO EG
SUBJECT: LOOKING TO PLUG IN: PALESTINIANS SEEK ALTERNATIVE
SOURCES OF ENERGY FROM EGYPT AND JORDAN

REF: 2005 JERUSALEM 05829

Classified By: Consul General Jake Walles for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (SBU) Summary: The Palestinian Authority (PA) is seeking
to import electricity from Egypt and Jordan in order to
reduce energy bills and diversify its supply, according to
local press reports the week of June 19.


2. (SBU) (Note: The Israeli Electricity Company (IEC)
generates 95 percent of the electric power used in the West
Bank. The Jerusalem District Electricity Co. Ltd (JDECO) and
the National Electric Company (NEC) purchase electricity from
IEC and distribute it to the Palestinians in the West Bank.
The remaining 5 percent is provided by decentralized small
diesel Palestinian generators at various locations in the
West Bank. Both JDECO (East Jerusalem and the central part
of the West Bank) and NEC (northern West Bank) use IEC-owned
transmission grids to distribute electricity to Palestinian
households. The IEC transfers power to Gaza, meeting 55
percent of demand. The Palestinian-operated Gaza Power Plant
(GPP),a subsidiary of the publicly-traded Gaza Power
Generating Company (GPGC),generates the remainder, which is
distributed through the quasi-governmental entity Gaza
Electrical Company (GEC) to the Gaza municipalities. End
Note.) End Summary.

From Jordan to Jericho
--------------


3. (SBU) Palestinian daily Al-Quds reported June 20 that
President Mahmud Abbas had received approval from Jordanian
King Abdullah for the Jordanian Electricity Company to
partner with JDECO to transmit medium-voltage electricity
(33kv) from Jordan to Jericho and the Jordan Valley. (Note:
The medium-voltage electricity of 33kv would be sufficient to
cover the electricity needs of Jericho, encompassing 7,000
households, according to Jerusalem District Electricity Co.
Ltd. (JDECO) Managing Director Hisham Omari. End Note.)



4. (C) JDECO Managing Director Hisham Omari told EconOff
June 20 that the PA Cabinet approved the agreement June 19
and that a JDECO technical team traveled to Jordan June 21 to
meet with Jordanian counterparts. He said the potential
savings to JDECO from tapping into a Jordanian supply of
electricity is estimated at NIS 10 million (USD 2.2 million)
per year and would reduce the cost of electricity by
one-third for end-users. JDECO is now petitioning the GOI to
approve the agreement since JDECO is registered in Jerusalem
as an Israeli company and is already supplying Jericho with
electricity. (Comment: Israeli approval would also be
required to link the two grids. End Comment.) According to
the Norwegian Representative's Office, Norway has agreed to
fund the equipment to install the electricity lines, but has
not yet determined the amount of assistance.

From Egypt to Gaza
--------------


5. (SBU) Palestinian Energy and Natural Resources Authority
(PENRA) official Suleiman Abu Samhadana announced to the
press June 19 that a facility would be built in Egypt to
transmit high-voltage electricity (220kv) from Egypt to Gaza.
Abu Samhadana said that Egyptian officials had approved the
USD 15 million project, funded by the Kuwait Fund, and that
it could potentially reduce Gaza's electricity bill by 44
percent.


6. (SBU) Following a June 21 visit to Egypt, PENRA head Omar
Kittaneh announced June 22 that Palestinian-Egyptian
discussions were being conducted on a technical level to
establish a connection between their respective electrical
grids, according to press reports. Kittaneh said both sides
had agreed to establish a double-circuited line, designed to
reduce losses from inefficiencies. This line will be 50
kilometers long and will originate from al-Arish in Egypt to
the Rafah crossing. According to press reports, the
Egyptians will prepare the technical descriptions and the
designs for the project.


7. (C) GPGC Project Manager Rafiq Maliha told EconOff June
22 that this type of project will take at least a couple of
years to implement and that it was a complicated undertaking,
given the "border politics." He said, however, that these
were concrete steps to establish a back-up power source in

the case of an interruption in supply. He added that there
is an annual increase in demand of 9 to 10 percent, driven by
changing needs and partly by population growth. Maliha
asserted that this increase in demand could be met by this
new Egypt-Gaza interconnection. (Comment: Maliha is correct
that this project will be difficult to implement.
International restrictions on the Hamas-led PA will
complicate progress, and Israeli cooperation will be required
as long as the Gaza grid is linked to Israel. however,
cheaper power would benefit Gaza's economy, and Israel's
electricity shortages at peak times could benefit from
additional supply in the grid. End Comment.)
WALLES