The Israeli newspaper Calcalist said that despite Energy Minister Eli Cohen’s announcement last week to postpone the planned increase in water prices, the Water Authority is scheduled to discuss tomorrow an increase that could reach 5%.
The Minister of Energy announced last week that he had requested to postpone the increase in water prices until July. However, the Water Authority intends to move forward with discussions tomorrow on a possible water price hike of up to 5%.
Cohen’s announcement raised eyebrows, according to the newspaper, as the Minister of Energy lacks the authority to interfere in decisions related to water and electricity tariffs determined by the relevant authorities.
Current and expected prices
So far, the average price of water for homes is about 141.5 shekels per month ($38.5).. If the proposed interest rate increase is fully implemented, it will rise to NIS 152.4 ($41.5) per month per household, representing an increase of NIS 10.9 ($3) per month.
Water prices are updated twice a year, in January and July, based on a basket of indicators that include the consumer price index, labor costs, and electricity prices.
In addition to these updates, the Water Authority is reviewing other operational costs of the water sector, such as increased use of desalinated water.
Calcalist says that – given the continued bleeding of the economy due to the war waged by Israel on the Gaza Strip – the Water Authority decided to abandon the adjustments necessary for the January update, choosing instead to conform to current indicators and postpone any changes in prices until July.
The Gaza war is exhausting Israel
The Israeli war on Gaza caused severe damage to the occupation economy, and inflicted huge financial losses on various economic and commercial sectors, markets, and business branches, due to the various economic measures and policies of Benjamin Netanyahu’s government during this war.
The war caused the evacuation of nearly 250,000 Israelis from their homes from the south and north – about 40% of whom have not returned to this day – as they were housed in 438 hotels and evacuation facilities, which cost government ministries 6.4 billion shekels ($1.8 billion), according to data. Ministry of Welfare and Tourism.
The Israeli economy was disrupted and suffered huge losses, as data from the Bank of Israel and the Ministry of Finance showed that the cost of the war – from last October 7 until the end of March 2024 – amounted to more than 270 billion shekels ($73 billion).
According to data from the Ministry of Security, the daily cost of the war from October 7 until the end of December 2023 amounted to one billion shekels per day ($270 million) before it decreased during 2024 to reach 350 million shekels ($94 million).
As a result of the economic repercussions and consequences of the war, the Israeli government was forced to expand the general budget for the year 2024, reaching 584 billion shekels ($158 billion), an increase of about 14% compared to the original spending limit that was set last year as part of the budget for the years 2023-2024.