[wvns] Gaza's power plant shut down

Gaza's power plant to shut down amidst latest fuel crisis
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=256716

Gaza - Ma'an - An EU contract paying for fuel shipments into the Gaza Strip for its sole power plant expired on 30 November 2009, according to Kan'an Obeid, deputy manager of the Energy Authority in the coastal enclave.

While the EU had been providing the service after the contract expired, EU officials notified the Energy Authority that they would no longer pay for the fuel shipments unless the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah drafted a new agreement and payment scheme.

Obeid said that the fuel in Gaza will last until Thursday morning. If a new shipment does not arrive, Gaza's power plant will be forced to shut down, in turn affecting 70 percent of the population.

The Energy Authority is in talks with the finance minister in Ramallah to implement a payment plan whereby the Gaza Electricity Company will collect money from its customers, then transfer the funds to the minister, who would pay Israeli fuel companies for the service.

Gaza's power plant has four generators, and while all are functional, only one is being used. This generator supplies electricity to the population of Gaza for 16 hours a day, Obeid said, as there is not enough fuel to power all four. The plant is currently running on reserve supplies, he added.

The fuel for the plant is delivered by Israel through the Kerem Shalom crossing, southern Gaza, in trucks. The majority of fuel used for personal use is smuggled from Egypt through the tunnel matrix. The plant can only use Israeli industrial grade diesel.

In December 2008, Gaza's power plant was shut down as a result of the fuel shortage, shortly before Israel's military offensive on the blockaded area.

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