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The Knesset on Thursday pbaded the government's controversial plan of 7.1 billion shekels ($ 1.9 billion) to reform the electricity sector and create more competition for the Israeli public corporation Electric Corporation . The plan was approved by the cabinet in June after the IEC and its powerful union agreed on the changes, capping a 22-year campaign to break the state's monopoly.
"Israel Electric will become much more efficient with a significantly lower debt, which should be pbaded on to consumers of electricity," said the director general of the Ministry of Finance, Shai Babad. In fact, consumers will not see the savings for many years because the cost of 7.1 billion shekels, most of which will go to IEC employees who are fired, will be paid in cash. refraining from lowering electricity rates.
Lawmakers approved the reform despite objections, but the Kohelet Policy Forum, an activist think tank, filed a petition with the High Court of Justice to try to block the financial side of the reforms. In addition, the unions have conditioned their final approval to the agreement that the retirement supplements that their members must receive will be declared tax free.
The IEC, which has been managing all aspects of the electricity sector for decades, has agreed to sell 19 production units at five sites over five years and to create a subsidiary to manage two power plants still in operation. to build. on natural gas.
System management and planning will be removed from the public service and sold to another public company. The IEC will remain the monopoly of the distribution, but the supply of electricity will gradually be open to competition and the utility will reduce its workforce from 1,800 to about 6,400 employees over the next eight years.
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