The only power plant in the Gaza Strip is set to resume operations after a fuel delivery, in Friday, Palestinian officials said.The Kerem Shalom crossing will be opened as an exception to allow 40,000 liters of fuel to reach the power plant, PA director of border crossings Nathmi Mhannad told Ma’an News Agency.
The plant was shut down Wednesday evening as funds from Qatari donations for fuel costs ran out. Cash-strapped Hamas pays the PA for fuel imported to besieged Gaza, and had been unable to cover the additional tax costs.
In December, Qatar stepped in and donated $10 million to the PA to cover the tax, effectively exempting Hamas from paying it for a short period.
The plant requires 550,000 liters of fuel per day to produce at capacity, the Gaza energy authority says.
Even with the plant running, Gaza endures some 12 hours of power outages each day. Many individual homes have their own generators, and households can purchase, expensively, fuel that comes into Gaza for private consumption.
The power plant was targeted during the Israeli offensive on Gaza by shelling on July 28, completely knocking it out of commission. The Gaza power authority said at the time that the damages from the attack could take up to a year to entirely fix.
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The Gaza Strip is blockaded and controlled by Israel on two of its crossings, isolated by Egyptian closure of a third.
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