As Qatar brings in funds to Gaza, Palestinians witness more hours of electricity

According to a Palestinian official, Palestinians in the coastal enclave are getting more hours of electricity during the day following the operation of the fourth turbine in the Gaza Strip. 

Jalal Ismail, the head of the Energy and Natural Resources Authority in the Gaza Strip, told The New Arab, "We have succeeded in operating the fourth generator after receiving US$ 13.3 million from Qatar this month."

Based on the Qatari fund, Ismail said, "The procedures for loading the additional quantities that the generator will provide will take a limited time until they are pumped into the networks of the Electricity Distribution Company."

"We have raised production to between 85 to 95 megawatts. The Qatari funding is sufficient to operate the generator until only the 5th of September," the official said. 

The only station to generate electricity was previously subjected to Israeli bombing in the summer of 2006 after the capture of the Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, and all projects related to resolving the electricity crisis went unheeded.

Since then, the residents of Gaza have been suffering from regular power outages. The coastal enclave, home to more than 2.3 million people, needs about 500 megawatts daily. At the same time, the Strip receives 120 megawatts from Israel, and the only power station generates 60 megawatts, according to officials in the territory. 

Based on the available power, locals witnessed the electricity connection in the autumn and spring months for eight hours, while there were eight hours of disconnection. Furthermore, the cutting would reach twelve hours during the summer and winter.

As a result, many residents of the Gaza Strip resort to buying electricity from private generators established by investment companies and spread in different areas. Still, their exorbitant cost amounts to about eight times the regular price.

Ismail expressed his appreciation for the efforts of the State of Qatar in its "unlimited support" for Gaza, revealing continuous contact for some time to avoid the worsening of the summer electricity crisis.