Israeli Minister of Energy and Infrastructure Eli Cohen has announced a historic reform in the country’s electricity sector, opening up the sector to competition for the first time since the country was founded in 1948.
The reform is expected to reduce the electricity bill for every household by an estimated rate of 5-20 percent, said a statement from the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure.
The reform opens the Israeli electricity market to private providers after it had been controlled almost entirely by the state-owned Israel Electricity Corporation (IEC).
The Israeli electricity system consists of four segments, including electricity generation, transmission to substations, distribution, and supply.
As of now, 49 percent of electricity generation in Israel has been gradually transferred to private companies, but the other segments remained under IEC control, according to figures released by Israel’s Electricity Authority.
The statement explained that the reform refers to the electricity sale and supply segment, and starting this summer, every household will be able to choose one of the private suppliers, who will be allowed to purchase electricity from the generators.
The providers will offer various discount packages, such as daytime, nighttime, and general discounts.
Until now, all electricity bills in Israel are handled by the IEC, without such discount options.
