14 projects benefitted from Fils Al Reef in 2023

AMMAN — The number of productive, investment and industrial projects benefitting from Fils Al Reef, a fee added to each kilowatt a household uses, reached 14 projects during 2023.

The director of the Electricity and Rural Electrification Department, Hisham Momani, said that the 14 projects were distributed as follows: 5 projects in Amman, 5 projects in the Jordan Valley, 3 projects in Mafraq and 1 project in Tafileh.

The Cabinet has recently approved amendments to the criteria for providing electricity through Fils Al Reef in November 2021, regarding the transfer of electricity to productive, investment and industrial projects located outside the regulated areas.

The Cabinet decision aims to encourage investment and contribute to providing employment opportunities for the local community.

The supply of electricity to productive, investment, and industrial projects located outside the regulated areas is contingent on Al Reef’s contribution not exceeding JD60,000 per project.

According to the decision, the maximum contribution from Fils Al Reef is linked to the minimum number of job opportunities provided by the project to Jordanians. The contribution is set at JD20,000 if the minimum number of job opportunities is 4 opportunities and JD30,000 if the number of job opportunities is 6 opportunities.

To benefit from this decision, the project owner must be of Jordanian nationality, obtain all licenses and approvals from government agencies for an existing project of no less than 50 per cent, provide an economic feasibility study for the project, and commit to employing Jordanian workers listed in the economic feasibility study upon operation, in coordination with the Social Security Corporation.

Momani told the Jordan News Agency (Petra) that the rural electrification project has evolved over the years as an innovative solidarity project to meet Jordan’s needs with the aim of developing the countryside and the desert, reducing migration to cities, encouraging reverse migration, and fighting poverty and unemployment.

He explained that the project was expanded to include delivering electricity to remote areas far from the grid through renewable energy systems not connected to the grid and included many farmers and associations aiming to support local communities, as well as installing solar energy systems connected to the grid for people with limited income.