"If there is no awakening, we will see a situation in Israel where a power plant will collapse"

"If there is no awakening, we will see a situation in Israel where a power plant will collapse," stated Niv Saver, Deputy CEO and Vice President of the Adlatel Group, at the Calcalist and Discount Energy Conference. The panel also featured Oz Levy (Electricity Authority), Lior Farber (CEO of Shamir Energy), and Noam Schweitzer (Discount Bank).

The discussion addressed the Electricity Authority's decision to halt the processing of new data center connection requests for 140 days. The volume of requests has surged to approximately 27,000 megawatts, three times the economy's average consumption and exceeding Israel's planned production capacity for decades to come.

A Shift in Paradigm

Oz Levy noted that the situation necessitates a change in perception: "The basic assumption until now was that consumption is a basic right provided to all at the same price. This will no longer exist, as we aim to integrate as many data centers as possible."

Niv Saver emphasized the need for structural changes: "The Electricity Authority acted responsibly, but emergency braking is not a work plan. We must not stop the data center locomotive, but we must maintain redundancy. We are an energy island." He suggested creating two distinct markets: one for efficient pricing for private consumers and another for electricity production dedicated to data centers.

Financing and Regulatory Challenges

Noam Schweitzer highlighted the gap between financing and regulatory horizons: "These investments reach billions of shekels and must pay off over 25 years. Financiers face an unformed wholesale market. Regulatory uncertainty is a major obstacle."

Saver added: "We are aware of two stations consistently nearing a loss. If financial reports indicate that new regulations are damaging profitability, these policies must be re-examined."

Future Outlook

Lior Farber stressed the importance of certainty: "The state needs to map geographical areas so we can understand the rules of the game. The pause on data centers is correct to bring order to the renewable energy sector."

The participants concluded that the energy market requires dynamic yet predictable regulation to foster infrastructure development without shifting the burden onto households.