Parliamentary Energy demands the removal of distortions in the new electric tariff and the inclusion of other categories in the subsidy
Amman Today
publish date 2021-12-20 18:03:44
The Chairman of the Parliamentary Energy and Mineral Resources Committee, Eng. Firas Al-Ajarmeh, stressed the importance of rearranging energy files, and standing up to the challenges they face, as they are the backbone of the national economy and an important factor in attracting investments.
This came when he chaired a meeting of a committee held today, Monday, in which a number of issues related to the energy sector in Jordan were discussed, in the presence of the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, Dr. Saleh Al-Kharabsheh, the Secretary-General of the Ministry, Eng. Amani Al-Azzam, and the Chairman of the Board of the Energy and Minerals Regulatory Commission, Dr. Hussein Al-Laboun.
Al-Ajarma said that the committee discussed with the stakeholders many main axes related to the energy sector, most notably: the field results of the cadres of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources in the Risha basin, with regard to phosphates and gas, and the mechanism that the ministry will follow in determining the new electric tariff and its impact on small segments, stressing the necessity of That the support also includes the children of the Gaza Strip and the children of Jordanian women married to foreigners.
He added that the committee asked the Ministry of Energy to inform it of the latest developments in the electrical connection with the countries of Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Palestine, and to exclude some government institutions from the decision to stop using renewable energy, especially public universities, such as the University of Science and Technology.
The meeting addressed questions about the reasons that stand in the way of facilitating procedures for citizens to own electric cars, according to Al-Ajarmah, who said that there is a global trend to abolish fossil fuel cars.
The committee also demanded to provide more details about the concession of the Phosphate Company, and if it is confined to a specific geographical area, according to Al-Ajarmah, who explained that the “Parliamentary Energy” will visit those areas to see the status quo in them.
In turn, the deputies: Zaid Al-Atoum, Majid Al-Rawashdeh, Omar Al-Naber, Dirar Al-Harasis, Talal Al-Nusour, Musa Hantash, Suleiman Abu Yahya, Abdullah Abu Zaid and Muhammad Al-Fayez stressed the importance of starting the new phase, addressing the problem of illegal energy use, increasing the exploratory capacity of oil wells, and striving to include all the Kingdom’s territories in The process of searching for mineral wealth.
They demanded the necessity of conducting an opinion poll on the new electric tariff, which will be implemented during the first quarter of next year, as well as working to control and eliminate distortions related to the new tariff, especially the fuel price difference clause.
For his part, Kharabsheh said that the ministry launched in early December a project to explore phosphate ore in the Risha area, stressing the complementary relationship between the Risha gas field and the exploration project, which is a national project implemented with national capabilities and capabilities, saying that the initial results of exploration for phosphates in the region are hopeful.
He explained that work has now begun in an area of 120 km out of 3000 km that will be explored successively, and that exploration operations are taking place based on previous studies, most notably a study carried out by the Geologists Syndicate, during which 9 wells were drilled, which showed the presence of good and economically hopeful thicknesses.
He pointed out that what is going on at this stage is to determine the extensions and thicknesses of phosphate ore, and to determine the percentage of its concentration and other components suitable for use in various industries in the local market and for export purposes.
On the issue of oil and gas, Kharabsheh indicated that the ministry has a database of two- and three-dimensional seismic surveys for some areas that were previously treated with unsophisticated software compared to the current software, which calls for translating these surveys into information that can help in exploration and exploration for oil and gas in these areas.
He stressed that the ministry will rely on national cadres in the exploration and exploration efforts for oil and gas in the Kingdom, while specialized international companies with experience will process and analyze the available data.
With regard to the Jordanian electrical connection with the Arab countries, Kharabsheh reviewed the interconnection projects with Palestine, Lebanon and Iraq, stressing that work continues to complete these projects for the benefit of all parties within the framework of Arab integration.
He indicated the importance of increasing the contribution of renewable energy to the total energy mix by relying on transforming the grid into a smart electric grid and finding solutions to the problem of storing electrical energy, noting that the ministry has a tendency to raise the production capacity of the Risha gas field from about 32 million cubic feet per day to about 50 million.
For his part, Laboun said that the application of the new electric tariff comes within a plan to regulate the electric tariff by directing support to Jordanian subscribers, removing distortions in the current tariff, increasing transparency and simplifying bills to facilitate their understanding by subscribers.
It also comes to implement the demands of vital economic sectors to reduce the costs of electric energy to increase its competitiveness and stimulate its ability to achieve sustainable growth, according to Laboun, who indicated that the new tariff will be applied during the first third of next year.
He stressed that the majority of Jordanian household subscribers, who consume less than 600 kilowatt hours per month, will not be affected by the new tariff.
He pointed out that under the new electric tariff, the tariffs will be reduced for the main economic sectors such as the commercial, industrial, hotel, agricultural and hospital sectors, which will have a significant economic stimulus effect on the activities of these sectors, which constitute the energy bill as one of the most important challenges to their business due to the large energy costs on them.
#Parliamentary #Energy #demands #removal #distortions #electric #tariff #inclusion #categories #subsidy
Parliament of Jordan
Source : اخبار الاردن