In 2009 four licenses were granted by Minister of National Infrastructures Ben-Eliezer for private electricity producers to build pumped storage power plants totaling 1,000 MW. The first license was granted to the PSP company a consortium of Electra Ltd. (38%), Ortam Yazum (38%) a company owned by Ortam Sahar and Yossi Maiman’s Merhav and the א.ר.ז. חשמל company (24%) to build a 300-megawatt plant on Mount Gilboa.

The second license is for a 220-megawatt power plant to be built at the Nesher cement plant on the Carmel mountain by Nochi Dankner’s IDB Holding Group belonging to the Clal Consortium. This project was cancelled in October 2010 due to strong opposition from the mayor of Nesher and IDB agreed to back-down from the project

The third license is again to the Electra Company for a 200 MW plant at Zuk Manra in the Upper Galilee. The fourth plant is by Tahal of the Kardan Group and Triple R that plan to set up a 300 MW station at the Kochav Ha’Yarden. The projects are in the initially stages of obtaining statutory permits. In November 2009, the PUA approved a tariff of 7.85 agorot per KWH of installed capacity (685 shekels per year). This tariff reflects according to the PUA a normative cost of $1,200 per installed KW for the establishment of a plant and provides a ROI of 14%. The arrangement is based on a normative efficiency factor of 76% and is assured for a period of 20 years with an additional option of 10 more years.

In May 2010, the National Infrastructures Committee at the Ministry of Interior has approved plans for a fourth pumped storage power station, this one at Maaleh Gilboa. The plan will now be sent to the regional planning and building commission for comments and to hear any objections from the public. The 300-megawatt Maaleh Gilboa pumped storage power station will be built on the eastern slope of Mount Gilboa by PSP, a joint venture of Ortam Sahar Ltd. and Electra Ltd. (38% each), and Ra’anan Alony