JERUSALEM (VINnews) — In recent days Israelis have faced the prospect of a significant electricity shortage which could be caused by a war with Hezbollah.
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Shaul Goldstein, The CEO of Noga, the company operating Israel’s electric system, said last week that there is no guarantee that there will be electricity in Israel in the event of a future war with Hezbollah.
“After 72 hours without electricity in Israel, living here will be impossible. We are not in a good state and unprepared for a real war,” Goldstein said. He added that Hezbollah could easily take down Israel’s power grid.
Energy ministry officials were quick to refute Goldstein’s claims, stating that the state of Israel’s energy is “robust and ready to deal with all possible scenarios.”
“Since the beginning of the war, the ministry has been tirelessly working to ensure the energy supply for all citizens of the country, preparing meticulously for extreme scenarios and possible supply disruptions. These efforts are being carried out in close cooperation with security agencies to manage electricity demand, energy redundancy, and fuel reserves,” the ministry’s statement read.
“There are several scenarios, including the ‘blackout’ scenario in which over 60% of households may be left without electricity for up to 72 hours, which is an extreme scenario with low probability. However, the ministry continuously works to reduce the likelihood of this scenario and to prepare for a swift recovery from a blackout, should it occur,” the statement continued.
The Energy Ministry called upon Israeli citizens to prepare for any situation in accordance with Home Front Command directives, including carrying batteries, water, and portable chargers.
Energy and Infrastructure Minister Eli Cohen commented, “The State of Israel will not be left alone. We are preparing for every scenario, holding discussions and assessing the situation, and spending billions of shekels to ensure a regular supply of energy to all Israeli citizens.”
He continued, “In recent months, we have increased our inventory and purchased a lot of equipment in order to have backups. The State of Israel has the ability to generate electricity from a large variety of sources – we have gas rigs, we have huge reserves of coal, and we also generate electricity from renewable energy. Many actions, which cannot be specified, have been taken to ensure a regular energy supply. The chance of a power outage for many days is very low.”
On Monday, Roy Levi, the Mayor of Nesher, a town near Haifa, and the deputy chairman of the Federation of Local Authorities spoke to Radio Tzafon about the possibility of long power outages if a major war broke out with Lebanon.
“I think the problem stems from the fact that everyone throws different information in the air and no one talks with the citizens and tells them what’s happening. I remind you of the story of the blackout scenario that was hidden from the local authorities as well until I broke it to the media. From the moment they began to speak about it, each one pulled it in a different direction according to their interests,” Levy stated.
He explained that “in all of the scenarios that are simulated, the talk is of a minimum of 72 hours without power. And I tell people to prepare for more than that since if there are 72 without power or even just 24 hours, it’s better to be ready when there are no medicines or a way to warm up food for babies and you have no way to use the basic necessary facilities. If the cell tower’s power is restored, it doesn’t help if the phone’s battery is dead.”
Levy added: “We hear that they are preparing for a bad scenario of at least 4,000 missiles on our area in a day. Therefore, all these stories that the power grid won’t be hit or that it will be repaired immediately; I don’t see people going to repair anything with 4,000 missiles a day. We need to prepare for at least 72 difficult hours, maybe even more, I say plan for even a week. I’m sure that by the end of that week, there won’t be a remanent of Lebanon left and they will beg for a ceasefire. But we need to be tough and be part of the war since the strong backing that we will give to the IDF will allow the IDF to win and take out the threat from the north.”