Electricity price cut delayed until February

A day before home electricity prices were set to be lowered by 9.4 percent, the Electricity Authority announced Wednesday that the move would be pushed off by one month, officially taking effect on February 1, 2015.

The Electricity Authority, a government body which oversees Israel’s electricity services, said the postponement was decided upon to allow companies to voice their opposition to the move in a hearing set to take place in mid-January, Ynet reported.

The current price for household power use of NIS 0.54 per kilowatt hour will go down to NIS 0.48 per kilowatt hour, which should result in an estimated saving of NIS 500 ($127) per year for the average household.

The price reduction, made possible thanks to the cheaper cost of electricity production after the Israel Electric Corporation began using natural gas from Israel’s offshore Tamar gas field, was initiated by National Infrastructure, Energy and Water Minister Silvan Shalom, along with former finance minister Yair Lapid.

Speaking earlier this month, Shalom said the change had been in the works for some time and would help industry by cutting production costs.

“I am pleased to announce to all consumers in Israel another major move that will affect the pocket of each of us,” Shalom said.

The expected reduction would be the first time electricity prices have gone down in three years.

According to the report, water prices are also expected to go down by 10% in the coming year.

Adiv Sterman and Stuart Winer contributed to this report.