05.07.2009

Under the new coalition agreement signed between the Likud and Israel Beitenu in March 2009 the government will set up an internal regulatory authority to examine Israel’s energy market that will be part of the MNI. The electricity authority and the natural gas authority will become part of this new regulatory body which will be known as the energy authority. The energy authority will be responsible for political matters, for providing licenses, for determining tariffs, for development plans, for setting standards and supervising the country’s electricity and natural gas sectors. IEC’s development plan will also have to receive the approval of the energy authority after its establishment

Energy has several forms, some of which are easily convertible and can be changed to another form useful for work. Most of the world’s convertible energy comes from fossil fuels that are burned to produce heat that is then used as a transfer medium to mechanical or other means in order to accomplish tasks. Electrical energy is usually measured in kilowatt-hours, while heat energy is usually measured in British thermal units (Btu).

The government of Israel decided that it was necessary to encourage competition in the country’s electricity sector and thus enacted legislation (Electricity Sector Law) that included means for independent power producers to obtain electricity generation licenses and hopefully produce up to 20% of the country’s electricity needs. By the end of 2008 less than 1% of electricity was generated by IPPs

Embedded costs represent the total costs of all assets and ongoing charges incurred in providing and maintaining a supply of energy. So named because these costs are “embedded” in the system and cannot be changed or separated from the actual costs of producing and generating energy. Embedded costs most commonly refer to costs incurred in the past which allow an energy utility to produce or deliver energy in the present. The most common embedded cost is the capital cost of transmission and distribution infrastructure (high-voltage corridors, power lines, transformers, natural gas transmission pipelines, etc.).

In Israel the electricity tariffs are set by the PUA-Electricity. The tariffs are updated either every six months or if there is a 3.5% change in IEC’s basket of expenses. The tariffs are composed of the approved cost of fuels, operational and maintenance services including consumer cost, capital services (depreciation, interest on debt in NIS linked to the CPI, interest on debt in foreign currencies linked to the Bank of Israel basket currencies, working capital financing, fair rate of return on equity, foreign currency risk exposure), compensation for the delays in updating the tariff, purchases from the IPP’s (Generation only), sectorial efficiency factor, pension surcharge, exogenous cost due to the past.

Elba Island is an existing LNG import terminal located on Elba Island, in Chatham County, Georgia. The initial authorization for the Elba Island facility was issued in 1972. LNG shipments ceased during the first half of 1980. In 2000, the project received Commission authorization to re-commission and renovate the LNG facilities. In 2003, the Commission issued an order authorizing the expansion of the facility, which included adding a second and third docking berth, a fourth cryogenic storage tank, and associated facilities. The expansion enabled an increase of working gas capacity and an increase of the firm sendout rate

The quantity of energy (direct and/or indirect) that has been consumed in the manufacture of a product measured at the production point or in the provision of a service measured at the point at which the service is provided.
The energy intensity of a country’s economy refers to the energy and fuel consumed per unit of GDP produced in the country. Energy intensities change over time.
This measure is typically calculated on a national basis. It shows that the economic efficiency of energy usage has improved or remained comparable throughout the world over the last two decades.
Energy intensities tend to trend downwards, due to:

• Normal structural changes, i.e. the transfer of resources from energy heavy to energy light sectors

• Autonomous energy efficiency improvements, meaning progress that happens by itself, so to say, not because of political signals

• Policy measures to make car manufacturers produce more fuel efficient cars, households insulate their houses better, etc.

In 1980, 15,000 British thermal units (Btu) of energy were needed for every dollar of GDP produced in the United States, compared with just under 9,000 Btu in 2006, a 40 percent improvement. Most countries, including China, have experienced similar gains in efficiency due to advances in technology and more sophisticated business management practices

Section of the US Department of Energy (DOE) providing statistics, data, analysis on resources, supply, production, consumption for all energy sources

The ratio of domestic production to total primary energy consumption