In the first ten days since the electricity reform came into effect in July more than 31,000 households are switching provider from the Israel Electricity Corp. (IEC) to private electricity suppliers, Noga Electricity Systems Management, which manages Israel’s electricity structure, has reported.
Of those who applied to switch companies, 13,800 already have a smart meter, a prerequisite for the move, while the others must wait to have one installed. Noga has set a target of 100,000 households switching electricity suppliers by the end of 2024.
Israel has 3.1 million electricity customers, of which only 900,000 have smart meters, which allow remote monitoring of electricity use.
Energy expert Oren Hellman, a former IEC VP tells "Globes," "Smart electricity consumers, who will switch to private suppliers, will be able to save significantly on their electricity bill through the use of batteries and electricity storage. In fact, this is a home nano-microgrid. The consumer profit will be from the arbitrage between the day rates and the changing night rates. Consumers will be able to store electricity in batteries at low rates and use electricity from the batteries when rates are high. This way it will be possible to enjoy the margin of the difference between the rates."
Hellman points out that another advantage of energy storage is the preparation for a situation of demand management or a regional or national emergency, as a result of the start of a war: "The electricity stored in the home batteries can be used when, God forbid, there is no electricity due to the security situation. This, of course, is also important for populations that are connected to life saving devices, who will be able to use the electricity stored before the power cut."
Private electricity providers include Electra Power, Amisragas, Cellcom, Partner, Hot, Bezeq, and Pazgaz.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on August 6, 2024.
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