Jordan raises electricity exports to West Bank through new substation

Facility near Dead Sea doubles Jordan's electricity exports to 8 per cent of West Bank needs

A view of Al Ramah power station in Jordan Valley. Reuters

Jordan opened on Wednesday a new electricity substation that doubled the amount of electricity the kingdom exports to the West Bank to 80 megawatts, Jordanian official media said.

Prime Minister Bisher Al Khasawneh and Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh inaugurated the $4.1 million ($4.8m) substation in Al Ramah, north of the Dead Sea.

The 80 megawatts Jordan now exports to the Palestinian Authority are equivalent to 8 per cent of West Bank demand, said Thafer Melhem, head of the Palestinian Energy Authority.

He said he hoped for Jordanian exports to expand to meet one-fifth of Palestinian demand, without giving a timetable.

"We are concentrating on diversifying our sources of energy," Mr Melhem said.

He said the electricity grid in the West Bank was connected with Jordan and Egypt and that the Palestinian Authority was also hoping to start producing its own electricity.

Jordan has excess electricity production but has struggled to find export markets despite talks over the past year with Egypt, Iraq and Lebanon.

In January, the kingdom signed a deal, supported by the US, to export 250 megawatts to Lebanon through regime-held areas of Syria. The exports were supposed to flow by April, but there have been none because Lebanon did not secure World Bank funds to pay for the electricity.