Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced a new reform starting this week, allowing people in the country to choose their electricity supplier, the prime minister announced on X, formerly Twitter, on Sunday.
This follows an earlier press conference on Wednesday, at which the launch of the electricity reform, which will take effect on July 25, was announced, Israeli media noted.
Starting on this date, consumers in Israel can choose which supplier they purchase electricity from.
Moreover, according to Netanyahu's post, Israelis may save between 5% and 20% on their annual electricity tariff, and households may save hundreds or even thousands of shekels by deciding which electricity provider they prefer and the use of electricity consumption.
היום אנחנו עושים היסטוריה במשק האנרגיה הישראלי! אני גאה להכריז על רפורמה משמעותית שתשבור את מונופול החשמל ותפתח את שוק החשמל לתחרות בישראל. החל מהשבוע כל אחד מכם יוכל לבחור את ספק החשמל שלו ולחסוך בין 5% ל-20% בחשבון החשמל. הצטרפו למהפכה, חסכו מאות ואלפי שקלים בשנה,…
— Benjamin Netanyahu - בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) July 21, 2024
The reform is described as a method to break Israel's electricity monopoly in a market that is worth more than NIS 30 billion per year. The Energy and Infrastructure Ministry predicts that if the discounts on electricity bills reach 20%, about two billion shekels will be returned to consumers.
Energy and Infrastructure Minister Eli Cohen also announced the reform in a post to X, stating, "This reform will lower electricity prices and save every family thousands of shekels a year!"
רפורמת החשמל יוצאת לדרך⚡יחד עם רשות החשמל, חברת נגה וחברת החשמל, קיימנו היום מסיבת עיתונאים לקראת תחילת הרפורמה הגדולה ביותר במשק מאז רפורמת הסלולר.הרפורמה הזו תוריד את מחירי החשמל ותחסוך לכל משפחה אלפי שקלים בשנה!תתקשרו, תשוו ותחסכו!צילום: שלומי אמסלם pic.twitter.com/O25kdAL4ms
— אלי כהן | Eli Cohen (@elicoh1) July 17, 2024
Up until now, only customers with a smart meter had the ability to switch to a private electricity supplier, and the new reform will allow consumers, even without a smart meter, to change providers.
The companies holding electrical supply licenses that will be shortly available to consumers are Electra Power, Pazgas, Mashav Energy, Hot, Bezeq, Cellcom, among others.
Liam Adiv contributed to this report.