Government said set to discuss controversial ‘kosher electricity’ plans Sunday

Government ministers are slated to discuss on Sunday controversial plans to build electricity storage sites aimed to be used by ultra-Orthodox Jews, many of whom are uncomfortable with the production and delivery of electricity on Shabbat, Channel 12 news reported.

According to the Friday report, the estimated cost of the project is NIS 100 million ($27 million). Energy Minister Israel Katz has said the move would not increase electricity tariffs for the general public, Channel 12 said.

Many in the ultra-Orthodox community are against the delivery of electricity from Friday night until Saturday night, saying that even if the electricity in their homes is controlled by a timer, there are Jews working at the power stations that produce the electricity on the Sabbath. As a result, many Haredi Jews run their own generators on Shabbat to avoid electricity from the national grid.

Channel 12 cited the explanatory note attached to the bill that will be discussed Sunday as saying: “The ultra-Orthodox population wishes to consume electricity on Shabbat that meets the requirements of Halacha [Jewish law]. Today, the solution to this is the use of generators that create a safety hazard, are expensive, and cause environmental pollution.”

“In light of the technological development of storage facilities with the required capacity, there is an opportunity to provide a suitable alternative solution that will satisfy the special needs of the population and is safer and cleaner,” it said.

The Energy Ministry has already received requests from the ultra-Orthodox city of Bnei Brak to receive such energy storage units, the report said.

According to Channel 12, the decision states that there would be no additional costs for the general public. The bill will only focus on replacing private polluting generators with more modern electricity storage units.

Still, the plans have come under intense criticism by opposition lawmakers.

On Friday, Yisrael Beytenu chairman Avigdor Liberman said the plans are “more lunacy on the way to a halachic state.”

“For 75 years all the ‘righteous’ managed without kosher electricity,” Liberman said on Twitter, adding that the move “comes at the expense of the middle class.”

“The construction of electricity storage facilities, combined with the high electricity rates during the week, compared to the cheap rates on Saturdays, will cost the citizens of Israel billions,” he said.

The electricity storage unit plans came up when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing and religious government was established in December.

Channel 12 reported at the time that the ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism party was making far-reaching demands on applying religious standards to the public sphere in return for joining the coalition, including shutting down the country’s power stations during Shabbat.

Netanyahu attempted to assuage fears, saying at the time that the religious-secular status quo would remain as it is and vowed not to give in to demands to stop the production of electricity on the Sabbath.