The all-time record for Israeli electric power usage was broken on Tuesday at 1:55 p.m. (Israel time), as Israelis used 13,809 megawatts of electricity, Kan News reported. The previous record occurred in July 2019 when Israelis used 13,568 megawatts of electricity, The Jerusalem Post's sister publication, Maariv, reported.
Israel is currently undergoing an intense heatwave, which is expected to last until the end of the week. On Tuesday the temperature in several parts of the country reached 40° C (104° F).Mekorot, Israel’s water company, reported water consumption in the country increased by 32% due to the heatwave on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday both in the agriculture sector and in drinking water.From Tuesday at noon to Wednesday at noon Israelis used 6.1 million cubic meters of water (6,100,000,000 liters).In addition, the sea-level of the Kinneret (the Sea of Galilee) began to go down due to more water being taken out to meet the high demands and increased evaporation amid the heatwave.On Wednesday morning, the water level was half a centimeter lower than on Tuesday.
Joint List MK Mansour Abbas sent an urgent letter to the IEC asking if they have a policy of planned power-cuts in Arab towns.
Allegedly, the IEC cuts off the power to some places to ensure it is able to meet the unusual demand for power during heatwaves. Abbas claims that the IEC cut the power for several Arab towns, including Nazareth, Umm al-Fahm and Sha'ab for several hours on Tuesday and Monday.
Abbas argued that Arab-Israeli citizens tell him that only Arab towns are impacted by this policy. He added that the IEC released a report in which it presented work done in Tiberias to ensure that city enjoys an on-going electrical power supply, but released no such plans for work in Arab towns. He asked the IEC to address the issue and explain the reason for the complaints he has received.
At the time of this writing there has been no response from IEC.
In 2015, the Israel Electric Corporation (IEC) warned that peak power consumption could cause power shortages. In Rishon LeTsiyon dozens of people were rescued from elevators that got stuck on Tuesday when the power failed. Residents were warned to avoid using elevators in the next few hours. One man in Dimona died from a heatstroke on Sunday. On Monday a driver was found unconscious in his car as a result of heatstroke, and was pronounced dead by emergency services at the scene.
The Israel Nature and Parks Authority (INPA) warned the public not to take long hikes in arid regions after several hikers became dehydrated and needed to be airlifted. INPA suggested people take short hikes and only in regions where water can be found.
In an effort to reduce the risk of wildfires the Jerusalem Municipality began using sheep, goats and even camels to graze around the city in the hope that less flammable vegetation would be available to feed a possible fire.