The Israel Electric Corp. (IEC) has asked the government to approve a hefty 15 percent increase in rates for electricity. The Public Utility authority is to decide by Friday how much to allow rates to rise. The IEC has warned that it will effectively strike capital markets and refuse to raise needed funds for investment if a steep rate hike is not approved.
The company's generating facilities have been working at almost 100 percent capacity at peak times for several years, causing frequent power outages.