Only 115 plants have been connected to the natural gas grid

In 2005, when the law was approved to remove bureaucratic barriers and promote the connection of plants in Israel to the natural gas grid, the Ministry of Energy promised that by the end of 2020, 450 plants would be connected to infrastructure, saving the country $ 700-500 million a year. Today (Tuesday) a representative of the Ministry of Energy said in a discussion held in the Economics Committee that so far only 115 plants have been connected to the natural gas grid, and that the ministry's forecasts have been updated - connecting only 220 plants by 2025 - less than half the target.
Direct connection of plants to natural gas has many advantages: reducing pollutant emissions due to switching to less polluting fuel, reducing plants' expenditures on energy, or combined production of electricity and heat (cogeneration), so that even small and medium-sized plants can become small electricity producers. . The definition of connecting factories is inaccurate, as it also refers to the connection of other energy-intensive institutions such as hospitals and agricultural facilities.
As in many cases, government and private entities blame each other for the failures. Meanwhile, small and medium-sized enterprises are paying the price because they cannot connect to a grid that could lead to a reduction of millions of shekels in their energy expenses.
The chairman of the Economics Committee, MK Yaakov Margi (Shas), yesterday initiated a special discussion of the committee to discuss failures in the development of natural gas distribution infrastructure. And the difficulties posed by the authorities for the development of the infrastructure. Not every city or local committee will raise its own difficulties, "Roll said.
Margie questioned the Ministry of Energy's desire to promote the connection of factories to natural gas infrastructure, saying that "when there is a failure, we need to examine why, and questions arise as to whether the state wants it at all."
Israel receives gas flowing from the oil reservoirs in the Mediterranean through the main transmission pipeline established by the Israel Natural Gas Routes Company (NCS) to several large plants, including BZN (+ 0.55% 73.3), Hadera Paper (+ 3.35% 14790), ICL (+0.07 1366%, Makhteshim, Haifa Chemicals and Sugat. The gas also reaches the power stations of the electricity company and private manufacturers, and the refineries in Ashdod. They are considered large plants that are not among the plants that the Ministry of Energy has stated that it wants to connect to the gas grid.
From this pipeline branches a distribution network, which is supposed to reach all industrial plants and institutional consumers, such as hotels, hospitals and military bases. The six distribution companies, which are responsible for the distribution network, were selected in tenders by the Ministry of Energy in 2012, 2013 and 2016. Each company was given a 25-year monopoly in its geographical area, and committed to a scope of retirement at a certain price of gas to the consumer. Distant consumers and companies can demand additional costs on the transmission infrastructure. The companies are obligated to connect to gas within two years any plant that turns to them, unless they encounter statutory problems.