Israel's Energy and Water Ministry sources said that independent power producer OPC Rotem anticipates to commence full-scale commercial operation at its gas power plant at Mishor Rotem by the end of June.
According to the sources, the additional capacity of the power plant is seriously required during the peak summer months, due to an accident at an Israel Electric power plant at Gezer, reported Platts.
The restart of the 440MW plant at Mishor Rotem has been delayed for several months due to a dispute with Israel Electric workers, who rejected the idea to link it up to the national grid, as well as a severe shortage of gas.
With the start of commercial production at the Tamar offshore field on 31 March, the gas issue at the plant has been resolved.
The Israel Corporation owns an 80% stake in the power plant through its OPC subsidiary, while the remaining 20% is owned by France’s Veolia.
The plant is the first of nearly 3,000MW of private power stations that will run on natural gas due to come online in the next few years.