The Gaza Energy Authority said on Sunday that the power crisis plaguing the Gaza Strip is at its worst level with no clear electricity schedule and with only two hours of electricity provided for most houses a day.
The Authority explained in a brief statement that Gaza needs more than 500 MWs but what is available is only 95 MWs due to the Ramallah-based Monetary Authority’s suspension of all bank transfers to Egypt for the purchase of fuel as well as the reduction of the power supplied to Gaza through the Israeli lines at the request of the Palestinian Authority (PA) president Mahmoud Abbas.
The breakdown of the Egyptian lines and Line 9 of Gaza’s power plant which feeds the southern provinces of the coastal enclave made the situation worse.
The Gaza Electricity Distribution Company warned in a statement on Sunday of serious and unprecedented repercussions on basic services due to the lack of electricity.
The Gaza Energy Authority announced on Saturday that two generators had stopped operating at the power plant after the Egyptian fuel shipments into the Gaza Strip were halted following the Monetary Authority’s suspension of all financial transfers to the Egyptian banks.
It pointed out that efforts are underway to transfer funds using other means to resume the supply of Egyptian fuel and re-operate the plant.
The PA has exerted many attempts to stop the Egyptian fuel supplies to Gaza playing a major role in tightening the blockade imposed on it.
