Household electricity consumption increased by about 7.6% in 2020, according to the summary data of the national electricity management company. However, national consumption remained virtually unchanged.
According to the company, the source of the increase is attributed to two factors: the first is the sequence of closures imposed on the public since the outbreak of the corona plague, and the second is climate change and heat waves that hit the country – those that required air conditioning even during periods of low power consumption.
At the end of March, the revenue data of the Electric Company – the electricity supplier for households – will be published, and then it will be possible to calculate how much the national average electricity bill has risen or fallen, neutralizing the changes in the tariff: 3% in January 2019 and 4.13% in early 2020. .
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Segmented throughout the months of the year, the jump in the peak of demand for electricity, compared with 2019, was recorded in September (an increase of about 13%), February (an increase of about 8.5%) and October (an increase of about 6%). On the other hand, the decline in demand for electricity by segmentation was recorded in June (a decrease of about 10%), April (a decrease of about 9%) and March (a decrease of about 5%).
Regarding the total national electricity consumption, this remained almost unchanged, with total production recording a minimal increase of about half a percent (about 72.8 billion kWh / hour compared to about 72.4 billion kWh in 2019). The data means that in fact this is a decline: in the company The management of the system mentions that this year there was an increase of about 2% in the population, to which was added an increase of about 0.2% in electricity consumption. Public trade and industry, as mentioned, balanced both the increase in electricity consumption among households and the natural increase in the population.In comparison, in previous years the electricity sector recorded a natural increase in consumption of 2.8-3 percent per year.
Yoram Cohen, CEO of the system management company, concludes that “climate change is what has affected electricity consumption, more than the corona. “Data from the company’s statistics unit show that in the coming years, global climate change will affect electricity consumption.”
Until about a month ago, the system management company was located within the electricity company, and is responsible for managing the national electricity system. As part of the reform of the electricity economy, the unit was “displaced” from the electricity company, and became a new government company that is expected to manage all electricity production in the country. The company is headed by Yoram Cohen, the company’s CEO, and Maj. Gen. (Res.) Sami Turgeman, the company’s chairman. By mid-2021, the company is expected to take full responsibility for managing the future planning and development of the electricity and trade economy.