JERUSALEM, May 23 (UPI) -- Israel is drafting regulations on importing electricity and natural gas from Jordan and Egypt, the Israeli business magazine TheMarker reported Tuesday.
Hoteliers in the southern resort city of Eilat, who are looking to purchase cheap electricity from Jordan and natural gas from companies with ties to Egypt and Jordan, complained that "a lack of regulations concerning cross-border gas and electricity lines will prevent the supply of natural gas to the State of Israel," according to the report.
The regulations will reportedly be finished by the end of May, according to a letter from Dan Weinstock, the Israeli Ministry of National Infrastructures' electricity administration chief, to the Eilat hoteliers, the report said.
Israel has been moving to encourage competition in the energy market.
The government's strong push to attract more natural gas suppliers, such as Britain's BG Group and Russia's Gazprom, stems partly from a need to offer suppliers to potential private power companies that could compete with the Israel Electric Corp.
