214 J. OBEID
erupted in 2003, and Egypt when the Sinai pipeline attacks happened
in 2011. The kingdom took steps to improve the security of gas supply
by implementing a Liquefied Natural Gas Terminal (LNG) in Aqaba
through a $65 million grant by Kuwait Government. The terminal
project, completed in 2015, allows imports from international markets.
As of early January 2020, Jordan is importing natural gas from Israel and
is met with public backlash rejecting normalization and calling for the
cancellation of the agreement, threatening another gas supply disruption.
But the kingdom’s plans are ambitious as it aspires to switch from a fuel
importer to producer through an oil shale program, expected to start
operations in 2022. The program has been in discussion since the 1990s,
but is yet to be implemented. The program is expensive and polluting,
but will provide a local source of fuel to the kingdom.
The electricity tariff in Palestine is relatively high averaging at $0.12–
$0.17 per kWh, close to the tariff of Israeli consumers. Yet, the cost of
electricity as share of household expenses in Palestine is the highest within
MENA countries. 10 The power sector, with a peak demand estimated
at 2,600 MW, 11 covered mostly by electricity imports from Israel Electric Company (IEC), also suffers from a fiscal deficit resulting from the
high cost of imports, the high technical and non-technical losses, and the
expensive cost of the electricity generated in Gaza’s power plant.
There is only one thermal power generation plant in Gaza; a 140 MW
diesel-fired plant, developed through an Independent Power Producer
(IPP) in 2004 on a 20-years Power Purchase Agreement (PPA), with a
take-or-pay model; thus, the Palestinian Authority has to pay for the full
capacity of the plant regardless of any constraints. Due to the high cost of
diesel, the electricity produced by the power plant ranges between $0.29
and $0.46 per kWh. 12 The distribution grid is severely weak resulting in a
loss of 25% of the purchased power, 13 and non-paying customers are estimated at 25%, hindering the ability of Palestine Electricity Transmission
Limited (PETL) to pay all its purchased power fees.
Palestine’s dependence on fossil fuel and electricity imports is one
of the outcomes of the Israeli occupations and the prevailing political
situation. Yet, this dependence creates a vicious circle and also increases
Palestine’s susceptibility to foreign politics and regional turmoil, making
its energy security very fragile, if at all existent. 100% of the West Bank’s
electricity supply and almost half of Gaza’s are linked to imports from
IEC. There’s enough power supply in Gaza to meet half of the supply,
resulting in 8 hours of blackout for every 8 hours of supply. Although
erupted in 2003, and Egypt when the Sinai pipeline attacks happened
in 2011. The kingdom took steps to improve the security of gas supply
by implementing a Liquefied Natural Gas Terminal (LNG) in Aqaba
through a $65 million grant by Kuwait Government. The terminal
project, completed in 2015, allows imports from international markets.
As of early January 2020, Jordan is importing natural gas from Israel and
is met with public backlash rejecting normalization and calling for the
cancellation of the agreement, threatening another gas supply disruption.
But the kingdom’s plans are ambitious as it aspires to switch from a fuel
importer to producer through an oil shale program, expected to start
operations in 2022. The program has been in discussion since the 1990s,
but is yet to be implemented. The program is expensive and polluting,
but will provide a local source of fuel to the kingdom.
The electricity tariff in Palestine is relatively high averaging at $0.12–
$0.17 per kWh, close to the tariff of Israeli consumers. Yet, the cost of
electricity as share of household expenses in Palestine is the highest within
MENA countries. 10 The power sector, with a peak demand estimated
at 2,600 MW, 11 covered mostly by electricity imports from Israel Electric Company (IEC), also suffers from a fiscal deficit resulting from the
high cost of imports, the high technical and non-technical losses, and the
expensive cost of the electricity generated in Gaza’s power plant.
There is only one thermal power generation plant in Gaza; a 140 MW
diesel-fired plant, developed through an Independent Power Producer
(IPP) in 2004 on a 20-years Power Purchase Agreement (PPA), with a
take-or-pay model; thus, the Palestinian Authority has to pay for the full
capacity of the plant regardless of any constraints. Due to the high cost of
diesel, the electricity produced by the power plant ranges between $0.29
and $0.46 per kWh. 12 The distribution grid is severely weak resulting in a
loss of 25% of the purchased power, 13 and non-paying customers are estimated at 25%, hindering the ability of Palestine Electricity Transmission
Limited (PETL) to pay all its purchased power fees.
Palestine’s dependence on fossil fuel and electricity imports is one
of the outcomes of the Israeli occupations and the prevailing political
situation. Yet, this dependence creates a vicious circle and also increases
Palestine’s susceptibility to foreign politics and regional turmoil, making
its energy security very fragile, if at all existent. 100% of the West Bank’s
electricity supply and almost half of Gaza’s are linked to imports from
IEC. There’s enough power supply in Gaza to meet half of the supply,
resulting in 8 hours of blackout for every 8 hours of supply. Although