Electric company responds to Gisha’s questions on the sale of electricity to the Gaza Strip

September 9, 2015

On July 12, 2015, Gisha filed a Freedom of Information Application (Hebrew) to Israel’s national electric company, seeking information about electricity sold by Israel to the Gaza Strip over the past few years and issues relating to electricity supply itself, disruptions and the like. Two months later, we received a partial response (Hebrew), which noted that the electric company had been supplying Gaza with electricity since the 1970s. The response also stated that the company uses 10 high-voltage power lines to transmit electricity to the Gaza Strip, with each line carrying 350 Amps. According to the electrical company, supply is determined by the orders the company receives and subject to full payment for delivery. It was further stated that the company has no long-term supply agreement with the Palestinian Authority or a contractual obligation to supply a certain amount of electricity.

According to the response, Gaza electricity bills run up to 35-45 million Israeli shekels per month and are paid on a monthly basis. Electricity tariffs are determined by the Israeli Electricity Authority (Hebrew) rather than the electric company.

The company provided no details regarding incidents in which electricity supply to the Gaza Strip was reduced or completely stopped. It also did not state whether the amount of electricity sold to Gaza was expected to rise, by, for instance, adding another power line, or by increasing the capacity of the existing lines.