The Palestinian Authority and Jerusalem Electricity Corp. owe the IEC NIS 2 billion.
Israel Electric Corporation (IEC) (TASE: ELEC.B22) has announced that it will limit its supply of electricity to Palestinian cities Nablus and Jenin. The limitations will be imposed for two hours today each time for both cities: once in the morning and once in the evening. This is the second time in a week that IEC has imposed such a restriction.
IEC said, "The debts of the Palestinian Authority (PA) and the Jerusalem District Electricity Corporation to IEC have mushroomed to NIS 2 billion, and after innumerable warnings and attempts to reach an arrangement, the IEC board of directors has instructed the CEO to take action to reduce the debt… Because IEC is legally obligated to operate according to commercial considerations, it must restrict the supply of electricity for defined periods from time to time."
The PA's debts are growing at a rate of NIS 85 million per month, a figure that IEC simply cannot afford. IEC lost NIS 920 million in the first three quarters of 2014, and is struggling under a prodigious debt burden of NIS 70 billion.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on February 25, 2015
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2015
electricity
Hedy Cohen and Yuval Azulai