State Comptroller and Ombudsman, Matanyahu Englman, participated this week in an international online conference organized by the Association of Mediterranean Ombudsmen.
The State Comptroller and Ombudsman participated in the organization's conference on the theme "Mediterranean: from the Sea that separates us to the Sea that unites us", and lectured in the plenum on 4.10.2021 in the framework of the online conference on "The Mediterranean energy sources: Sustainability and fair use, meeting our needs".
Here is the full transcript of Mr. Englman's lecture:
Hello, ladies and gentlemen
I am delighted to be here today and would like to thank the President of the AOM for organizing this important conference and for giving me the opportunity of speaking before you.
It is very exciting to see so many people coming together for the purpose of discussing such an impelling issue, which has recently received greater urgency in light of the natural disasters that have hit the world. In the framework of the conference, we will be discussing the sustainability and fair use of natural resources. This is a very broad topic, including not only the pursuit of new and clean energy solutions that do not cause environmental harm, but also an attempt and effort on our part to protect our planet while using the existing energy sources available to us.
In my lecture, I will share with you data from my work as State Comptroller and Ombudsman of Israel to illustrate the way the State of Israel is handling energy efficiency and its attempt to promote the use of renewable energies, while exposing the problems of the private individual in this field.
I'll start by commenting on a number of Israel's strengths and afterwards I'll detail the end-products of state audit and complaint investigation carried out by our office over the last year.
Solar energy - As of the start of 2020, almost 7% of electricity in Israel is produced from renewable energies. 90% of renewable energies in Israel originated from solar energy.
Water desalination - water desalination facilities produce 50% of the drinking water in Israel.
Transition to generation of electricity from gas - As of the start of 2020, almost 70% of electricity in Israel is produced from natural gas.
Start-up nation - advancement of technologies for shifting to the electric vehicle - the purchase of an Israeli Company, Mobileye, by Intel Corporation for 15.3 billion Dollars. Mobileye produces computer vision for autonomous driving technology; Check Point's entrance to the electric vehicles industry in order to cope with the challenges facing autonomic vehicles with regard to cyber attacks.
Energy efficiency is defined as the intelligent exploitation of energy resources, that is to say the generation of products and economic benefits and maintaining the modern quality of life while reducing the use of energy. Energy efficiency is the key to promising a safe, reliable, cheap and clean energy economy, to reducing pollution and improving the quality of life.
In my capacity as State Comptroller, the Office has audited the actions taken by government ministries for energy efficiency in the economy and for attaining government targets pertaining to the issue.
In the framework of State Audit Report for the year 2020, we dedicated a chapter to the topic of energy efficiency. Our office checked energy efficiency in the electricity and transport sector, in the public sector, in the Ministry of Energy, the Ministry of Environmental Protection and other government ministries.
Among other things, the findings revealed several interesting data:
The annual estimated extent of damage from the emission of greenhouse gases in Israel in 2019 stood at 10.9 billion shekels.
The rate of increase in the volume of private mileage between the years 2015 to 2018 stood at 15% while the rate of increase in the volume of public mileage stood at only 2% during this period.
In 2008, the government of Israel set a target of 20% efficiency in electricity consumption in 2020. However, in 2020 the rate of efficiency in electricity consumption stood at 7.5% only.
In the framework of an initiative called "smart metering" in the electricity network, smart meters enable the continuous remote measuring of energy consumption while shifting and reducing the demands for electricity. The installation of these meters has a saving potential of up to 8.1 billion shekels.
However, the percentage of smart meters in 2019 stood at only 3% and no plan for promoting this initiative has been established.
The electricity sector registered a reduction in the emission of carbon dioxide from 59% of the total emissions in the year 2000 to 55% in 2018. This reduction stems among other things from the transition to the use of natural gas instead of coal and diesel.
Energy efficiency - recommendations:
Government ministries must continue working to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases, by means such as restricting private mileage and moving over to the use of clean energies in the electricity sector.
The government ministries of Energy, Environmental Protection, Finance and Transport should prepare a comprehensive program for energy efficiency, which incorporates all the actions in the electricity, transport and industry sectors, including defining targets and schedules for implementation, as well as the allocation of resources.
The Ministry of Transport is required to formulate a plan for encouraging the use of public transport, while fixing schedules, interim targets and measures for monitoring the implementation of the steps of the plan.
Complaints relating to energy efficiency:
Smart meters for remote gauging are also installed in the water network. The State of Israel is known to be a state suffering from a chronic lack of fresh water. In recent years, and as a result of this deficiency, water desalination facilities have been established next to the Mediterranean Sea and today these facilities produce 50% of the drinking water in Israel. Desalination is an expensive process and therefore water saving still has an important financial dimension.
The installation of these meters enables the water corporation to identify irregular water consumption in real time and to notify consumers about it so that they can handle the problem, in so far as it is within their responsibility. In this way, large amounts of water and water generation energy are saved; even pollution is reduced since meter readers are no longer required to travel from one meter to the next.
In my capacity as Ombudsman, we received many complaints relating to the proper working of the meters and claims of irregular consumption.
Every year, the Office of the Ombudsman receives complaints relating to the provision and consumption of water. When the Office receives a complaint about the water corporation's defective handling of irregular water consumption, it checks if the corporation has fulfilled its duties in accordance with the rules of standard requiring the corporation to report the irregular consumption to the consumer, taking into account the different degrees of reporting according to the rate of consumption.
The corporation is likely to be obligated to pay the complainant monetary compensation for failing to comply with the rules.
The Office received complaints relating to an unexplainable surge in water consumption. Some of these frequently result from problems with the water meters.
In light of the number of complaints relating to irregular consumption, the Office turned to the public via the social networks and invited anyone who had experienced an unexplainable and irregular increase in water consumption to contact it. Since involving the public, the Office continues to monitor the activities of the Water Authority in this matter and frequently corresponds with the Authority in order to clarify the issue.
I also believe that complaints relating to environmental protection issues are very important for maintaining energy efficiency. For example, we received complaints about the faulty dispersal of facilities for bottle recycling in areas under the jurisdiction of local authorities. We received the complaint of a 9-year-old girl who complained that there was no facility for bottle recycling next to the neighborhood supermarket. Following the complaint, we contacted the local authority, which checked out the matter and consequently placed a facility near the supermarket.
In the State of Israel, as in the rest of the world, there is a heightening awareness of the actions being taken to encourage a shift to renewable energies - solar, wind and other non-degradable sources. At the base of this trend lies the understanding that sources of degradable energy will not exist forever and thus necessary arrangements must be made by using diverse energy sources. The main technologies for generating renewable energy today are solar, photo and voltaic, as well as wind technologies.
The Office of the State Comptroller checked the actions taken by government ministries to reduce pollution by advancing renewable energies, and the steps adopted for decreasing dependence on polluting fuels. The audit was conducted in government ministries, such as the Ministry of Energy, the Ministry for Environmental Protection, the Ministry of Transport and Road Safety, the Government Vehicle Administration, the Israel Tax Authority, the Israel Electric Company and other public bodies.
Among other things, the findings revealed the following interesting data:
The rate of electricity generation out of all sources of renewable energy stood at 5% in 2019, while the government target for electricity generation in 2030 stands at 17%.
46% of the total potential for generating electricity from solar energy can be found in places in built-up areas.
There lacks an energy economy masterplan for developing the economy from an incorporative and long-term perspective.
Promoting energy efficiency – recommendations:
The Ministry of Energy will complete the preparation of a masterplan or strategic plan that will include the desired amalgamation of energy sources in the economy.
A change in taxation policy regarding "green" vehicles which will be coordinated with the goals being promoted by the Ministry of Energy in the field of "green" vehicles.
As said, in the past giant power stations were the sole generators of electricity. In recent years, the government of Israel has been encouraging "home generation" of electricity, such as solar panels installed on the roofs of homes and office buildings. As of 2019, the generation of electricity for the electric economy from solar panels totalled some 3%.
The generation of electricity by solar panels serves independent domestic consumption, while the remaining electricity, assuming there remains electricity, is sold to the Israel Electric Company via a connection between the solar panel and the national transmission system at a price per kilowatt-hour as agreed upon in advance.
The complaints relating to the solar panels deal with delays in connecting the solar facility to the national transmission system, as well as delays on the part of the Electric Company in paying the consumers for the electricity generated on the roof of their homes and sold to the Company.
In addition, since the installment of the facilities requires receiving different statutory approvals, we have started receiving complaints relating to the planning side (planning and construction) of panel installation, for example because of disputes between neighbors.
In anticipation of the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties to be held in Glasgow, we expect to publish a comprehensive report on the arrangements being made by the State of Israel to cope with the climate changes. This report deals with the actions of the government to promote guarantees for reducing greenhouse gas emissions (mitigation), with the implications of the climate changes on different sectors and with the preparations of the government for coping with the dangers emanating from climate changes (Adaptation). The report also looks at the financial and macro-financial aspects of the climate change, as well as the financial risks including the taxation aspect of coal and technological innovations in the climate field. It also examines the organizational, functional and implementation preparations being made in Israel and maps out the central difficulties posed by the climate crisis.
May I take this opportunity to invite you all to the Jubilee online international conference that the Office of the Ombudsman will be hosting on 1st December 2021. The conference will deal with the advancement of rights of the elderly in an age of longevity. I look forward to seeing you all there!
Thank you for your attention!