8 LEVANT: WHERE POLITICS DEFEAT ALTERNATIVE …
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dilemma. Getting around these bottlenecks therefore requires a dilution of powers and the national centralized focus, while emphasizing
decentralization and local authorities.
The sector suffers from a significant shortage in electricity supply since
generation capacity of 2,000 MW is overwhelmed by peak power demand
estimated at 3,600 MW. While the need for additional thermal power
plants to meet the base load is obvious, the last power plant constructed
was in 1999, after which the succeeding governments failed to add
significant generation capacity due to the non-functional political system
blocking any progress. Reforms in the power sector have largely remained
on paper. The 2010 policy paper for the electricity sector was approved
by the parliament, yet its implementation was obstructed. It was updated
in 2019 and endorsed as the 2019 sector’s policy paper. The Ministry
of Energy and Water (MoEW) is working toward its execution, yet, the
chronic political clashes may partially or fully impede it and future policies. The length of the electricity crisis has spurred the development of
vested interests across the value chain.
Moreover, the monopoly of the state has historically entailed that the
public utility owned and operated power plants with little contribution
from the private sector solely through engineering, procurement and
contracting and turnkey projects.
Renewable energy started developing as a game changer, taking a
different path than conventional thermal generation. The first utility-scale
wind farms initially launched in 2013 are a breakthrough in the energy
sector as they became the first energy projects to endorse public–private
participation through the IPP model.
Some commercial and industrial consumers were among the early
adopters of distributed solar generation, especially through hybrid solar
photovoltaic/diesel systems, realizing the high benefits and fiscal savings
resulting from the reduction in usage of the expensive diesel generators. The availability of the National Energy Efficiency and Renewable
Energy Action (NEEREA) financing scheme and the net-metering policy,
along with continuous decrease in renewable energy technologies’ cost,
stimulated the small-scale and rooftop solar market. Yet, the economic
crisis and shortage of liquidity might jeopardize that. Unlike centralized systems, the consent of the central government is not required for
distributed generation; the typical political bottlenecks and vested interests were therefore circumvented. Decentralization therefore became the
219
dilemma. Getting around these bottlenecks therefore requires a dilution of powers and the national centralized focus, while emphasizing
decentralization and local authorities.
The sector suffers from a significant shortage in electricity supply since
generation capacity of 2,000 MW is overwhelmed by peak power demand
estimated at 3,600 MW. While the need for additional thermal power
plants to meet the base load is obvious, the last power plant constructed
was in 1999, after which the succeeding governments failed to add
significant generation capacity due to the non-functional political system
blocking any progress. Reforms in the power sector have largely remained
on paper. The 2010 policy paper for the electricity sector was approved
by the parliament, yet its implementation was obstructed. It was updated
in 2019 and endorsed as the 2019 sector’s policy paper. The Ministry
of Energy and Water (MoEW) is working toward its execution, yet, the
chronic political clashes may partially or fully impede it and future policies. The length of the electricity crisis has spurred the development of
vested interests across the value chain.
Moreover, the monopoly of the state has historically entailed that the
public utility owned and operated power plants with little contribution
from the private sector solely through engineering, procurement and
contracting and turnkey projects.
Renewable energy started developing as a game changer, taking a
different path than conventional thermal generation. The first utility-scale
wind farms initially launched in 2013 are a breakthrough in the energy
sector as they became the first energy projects to endorse public–private
participation through the IPP model.
Some commercial and industrial consumers were among the early
adopters of distributed solar generation, especially through hybrid solar
photovoltaic/diesel systems, realizing the high benefits and fiscal savings
resulting from the reduction in usage of the expensive diesel generators. The availability of the National Energy Efficiency and Renewable
Energy Action (NEEREA) financing scheme and the net-metering policy,
along with continuous decrease in renewable energy technologies’ cost,
stimulated the small-scale and rooftop solar market. Yet, the economic
crisis and shortage of liquidity might jeopardize that. Unlike centralized systems, the consent of the central government is not required for
distributed generation; the typical political bottlenecks and vested interests were therefore circumvented. Decentralization therefore became the