AMMAN — The head of the
Parliamentary Energy and Mineral Resources Committee,
Firas Al-Ajarmeh, stressed
the importance of addressing the energy sector's challenges, as it is the
backbone of the national economy and an important factor in attracting
investments.
اضافة اعلان
According to the Jordan News Agency,
Petra, this came during a meeting the committee held on Monday, in which several
issues related to the energy sector in Jordan were discussed in the presence of
Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Saleh Al-Kharabsheh, Secretary-General
of the Ministry Amani Al-Azzam, and chairman of the Board of the
Energy and Minerals Regulatory Commission (EMRC) Hussein Al-Laboun.
Ajarmeh said that the committee
discussed with the stakeholder's the main issues related to the energy sector,
most notably the results of the ministry's field exploration in the Risha
basin, phosphates, and gas exploration, and the mechanism that the ministry
will follow in determining the new electricity tariff and its impact on small
segments of subscribers.
He emphasized the need to consider the
Gaza Strip families living in Jordan and the children of Jordanian women
married to foreigners when approving the new electricity tariff.
He added he had asked the ministry to update
the committee on the latest news regarding the electrical connection with Iraq,
Syria, Lebanon, and Palestine.
The committee also called for more
details regarding the concession of the Phosphate Co. and if it is limited to a
specific geographical area, according to Ajarmeh.
A number of lawmakers stressed the
importance of addressing the problem of illegal energy use and increasing the
capacity of exploratory oil wells. Others asked why the government is raising customs tax on electric cars when
the whole world is abandoning fossil fuel-run vehicles.
Members of the committee called for
conducting a national opinion poll to see what people think about the new
electricity tariff, which will be implemented during the first quarter of 2022.
They also called on the ministry to revise issues related to the new tariff,
like the controversial item on electricity bills called "fuel price
difference."
Laboun said that applying the new
electricity tariff comes within a plan to regulate tariff by providing support
to Jordanian subscribers, increasing transparency, and simplifying bills.
He said that the majority of Jordanian
households that consume less than 600 kilowatt-hours per month would not be
affected by the new tariff.
He pointed out that the new
electricity tariff would be reduced for main economic sectors such as
commercial, industrial, hotel, agricultural, and hospital sectors, which will
have a significant economic effect on the activities of these sectors.
For his part, Kharabsheh said that the
ministry has launched a project in early December to explore phosphate ore in
the Risha area, stressing that the project is being implemented through local
experts and manpower.
He explained that work had begun in an
area of 120 sq.km. out of 3,000sq.km. that will be explored and that
exploration operations are taking place based on previous studies, most notably
a field study carried out by the Geologists Syndicate, during which nine wells
were drilled and showed good signs.
He pointed out that what is going on
at this stage is determining the extensions and thicknesses of phosphate ore
and the percentage of it and other components suitable for the local market and
for export purposes.
Kharabsheh said that the ministry would
rely on national teams to explore oil and gas. At the same time, specialized
international companies with experience will process and analyze the available
data in specific areas.
The minister reviewed the status of
electricity interconnection projects with
Palestine,
Lebanon, and
Iraq, saying
that work is ongoing to complete these projects.
He indicated the importance of
increasing the contribution of renewable energy to the total energy produced by
transforming the national grid into a smart electric grid and finding solutions
to the problem of electricity storage.
Kharabsheh said the ministry has the ability
to raise the production capacity of the Risha gas field from about 32 million
cubic feet per day to about 50 million.
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