Dhafer Melhem head of the Palestinian Energy and Natural Resources Authority (PENRA) said the Palestinian government developed a four-pronged strategic plan to improve the electric power sector affirming that the government is fully aware of the power crisis in the Gaza Strip.
In an interview conducted with him by the Palestinian Information Center (PIC) Melhem stated that the first stage of the plan would be temporary lasting for three months with the aim of alleviating the power crisis in Gaza and reducing the deficit in power supply that ranges between 68 and 78 percent through relying on the Gaza power plant.
The other three stages of the strategic plan he explained would consist of a short-term plan to minimize the power shortfall to about 20 percent by 2020 a medium-term plan until 2025 and a long-term plan until 2030 in order to meet the power needs that would result from the natural growth of the population in Gaza.
He affirmed that the initial plan is aimed at providing Gaza once again with 120 megawatts of electricity and then upgrading the grid to 220 megawatts.
Describing the electricity sector as a major challenge for the Palestinian government he highlighted the need for “concerted efforts by all national action factions civil society groups the private sector and international organizations like the UNRWA to overcome such problem.”
He also stressed the need for large investments financial resources security stability and regional relations in order to promote the electricity sector and meet the population’s power needs.
Natural gas for power generation
Regarding the fuel used to operate the turbines of the Gaza power plant the PENRA official affirmed that the plant was designed to work on natural gas and then converted to operate on industrial fuel which led to low efficiency in its power generation and heavy financial burdens on the distribution company.
He pointed to the presence of a serious idea within the medium-term plan to turn the plant into a natural-gas-fueled facility through extracting natural gas from Gaza waters adding that if the Palestinians had access to their gas resources the operational capacity of the plant would be expanded to 400 or 450 megawatts of electricity.
