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28 December 2007 - Residents of ultra-Orthodox areas of Jerusalem are to get "kosher electricity", according to the Jewish Telegraph.
It comes after some charedi neighbourhoods refused to use electricity produced by Israel Electric (IE) on Shabbat. Some Orthodox rabbis are concerned that IE unnecessarily desecrates Shabbat to produce electricity.
These rabbis argue that Jewish workers perform acts forbidden on the holy day as part of the electricity production process. Now Jerusalem Mayor Uri Lupolianski has directed municipality officials to move forward with plans to connect these areas with "kosher" electricity.
Residents will pay a higher price for electricity produced via "kosher" means.
In order to operate the power plants that produce electricity, workers - often Jews - are required to operate machinery and regulate the use of combustible substances such as fossil fuels. These actions are prohibited on Shabbat according to halacha.
Many rabbis rule that it is permitted to use electricity on Shabbat because stopping the production of electricity on that day could endanger lives. In contrast, some rabbis encourage the use of generators since they are operated before the beginning of Shabbat and work unattended throughout Shabbat.
This skirts the necessity to perform actions that are prohibited during Shabbat.
In addition to Jerusalem, Israel Electric has begun negotiations to put generators in the predominantly charedi cities of Betar Illit, Kiryat Sefer and El-Ad.
The electric company intends to fund the costs by charging a fixed monthly fee to all residents who use the generator-produced electricity, but all residents will have to agree to foot the bill. Local residents have not yet agreed to pay for the costs.
The move is designed to eradicate pirate generator operators who present potential health hazards and noise pollution.
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