With the many rumors and fears of mass blackouts in the event of war with Hezbollah or an Iranian strike, Energy Minister Eli Cohen issued a statement today (Wednesday) trying to calm public fears, and saying there will be no serious crisis even if the war expands.
"The rumors are baseless"
Per Cohen, "the State of Israel is preparing for the possibility of the expansion of the war, and the effort of our enemies to harm strategic installations in the energy economy, and it's very important for me to make order in light of the wave of rumors regarding electricity supply in case the war expands."
"The rumors of scenarios of electrical outages for weeks or months are baseless, and the odds of this are miniscule to non-existent. No resident of the State of Israel will have to deal with an electrical outage for weeks. All the installations providing energy to the State of Israel are defined as strategic installations and protected by security forces."
"There's no reason to panic"
The minister added that "even in the extreme scenario of damage to an energy installation - we've established an unprecedented backup system which allows us to channel electricity to any damaged area within a short time."
"It's important to note that the State of Israel has the ability to produce electricity from a broad range of sources, spread throughout the country - above ground, deep underground, and in the middle of the sea. We have gas reservoirs, diesel reservoirs, enormous coal reservoirs, and we produce electricity on a large scale from renewable energy at many sites."
"We invested billions of shekels to ensure regular energy supply to all Israeli citizens, in routine times and in emergencies, and no-one will be cut off from electricity for long. There is no real reason to panic."
He ended by praising the Electric Company for its conduct during wartime: "To end off, I'd like to praise the workers of the Electric Company who work day and night, risking their lives, to ensure the supply of electricity and energy to all Israeli citizens. Unfortunately, four Electric Company workers, warriors of light, were killed during their work while repairing electrical networks. I send condolences to the families."