Jordan’s power grid hit by suspension of Israeli gas exports

Jordan is struggling to keep its electricity network running without imports of Israeli gas, which have been suspended since the start of the war against Iran.

It depends on Israeli gas to generate nearly 60 percent of its electricity. The rest is generated from domestic gas output, shale oil, renewable energy and diesel, according to official figures cited in Jordan’s Alghad newspaper.

The country’s National Electric Power Company (Nepco) said at the end of February that it had activated an emergency plan to deal with the suspension of Israeli imports. This includes halting gas supplies to private industrial units, using emergency gas stocks, increasing imports of liquefied natural gas and using more diesel in power generation.

“I believe the situation is so far under control but if the regional conflict drags on, the power sector will face challenges,” Ahmed Al-Salaymeh, an engineering professor at Amman University, told AGBI.

The former head of Nepco, Abdul Fattah Daradkeh, told Alghad there were growing concerns about Amman’s ability to cope with a prolonged gas supply disruption.

Jordan’s reliance on imports “makes its power sector highly sensitive to any geopolitical developments that could affect the flow of energy supplies in the region”, he said.

However, he pointed out that Jordan’s reliance on imported gas had fallen from as high as 97 percent in 2011, thanks to a surge in shale oil production and the expansion of renewable energy output.

Ahmed Hiyasat, another former Nepco boss, warned that increasing the use of LNG and diesel would be expensive.

“Jordan can boost LNG imports via its floating degasification storage unit and also expand the use of diesel in power generation…but the cost will be very high following the sharp increase in their prices,” he said.

When the conflict broke out, Nepco said Jordan’s fuel reserves for electricity generation could last 30 days.

“So far, the electricity network is operating normally and the emergency measures we have taken will remain in place to ensure there will be no disruptions,” said Nepco director-general Sofian Al-Bataineh.