The ceremony was attended by the Minister of Energy, MK Israel Katz, the director general of the outgoing ministry, Lior Shilat, the ministry’s employees and the managers of government companies in the energy sector.
In recent years, Blitstein has served in a series of senior positions in the public sector, including head of administration (VP) of the Israel Routes program at the Ministry of Transportation, head of the Planning and Development of Infrastructures Administration at the Ministry of Transportation, deputy director general of the Ministry of Transportation, chairman of the National Infrastructure Headquarters at the Ministry of Finance and Acting Director General of the Ministry of Finance.
Minister of Energy, MK Israel Katz: I would like to first thank Lior for his dedicated and important work in the office, and I am sure that he will continue to contribute from his experience in the public and private service. Kobi served alongside me in a senior position in the Ministry of Transportation and also in the Ministry of Finance, he was the head of the headquarters for national infrastructures that I established, in order to include the issue of planning and execution. These activities are also intertwined with the activities of this ministry, which is originally the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure. The energy sector is one of the most important in the country and in the government, and we need to find ways to preserve and promote good things, and fix what needs to be fixed – because in the end, the test is in providing service to the citizen in front of authorities in the region and the world.”
The outgoing Director General of the Ministry of Energy, Lior Shilat: “I want to wish great success to Minister Israel Katz and to my replacement, Kobi Blitstein. You have received an excellent office, a motivated management and a critical economy for strengthening the economy and strength of the State of Israel. I am sure you will lead the office and the economy to great achievements. In whatever way I can help – I am always at your disposal.”
Shilot listed the firm’s achievements while serving as CEO: “We have connected over 1,800 megawatts of renewable energy to the grid, which is an increase of over 200% compared to the previous corresponding period. According to the Electricity Authority data, at the end of 2022, the electricity supply from renewable energy in Israel will be over 20% and the production over 10%. We began the implementation of the reform in the import of electrical appliances which leads to a reduction in regulation, and will result, according to an estimate made by the European Union, to a saving of 5% in the electricity consumption of households by 2030. We enabled the operation of the Harish rig, the third rig of the natural gas industry in Israel and brought more redundancy and more competition in the industry Israeli natural gas. We issued the fourth procedure for natural gas exploration at sea, which has the potential to increase Israel’s natural gas reserves, and when all over the world natural gas rates jumped by tens and hundreds of percent, we reduced the natural gas transmission rate by 14.5% percent. We issued three tenders for the establishment Charging stations that will lead to the establishment of 3300 charging sockets in the coming years and we activated the “Terua” system and made Israel one of the only countries that has a real-time warning system for earthquakes. We made energy diplomacy the leading tool in strengthening the power of the State of Israel in the world through a series of strategic agreements with the Union Island Rufai, Egypt, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates and of course with Lebanon, and this is just a summary of the actions carried out by us in the energy sector.”
The incoming Director General of the Ministry of Energy, Kobi Blitstein: “First and foremost, I would like to thank Minister Israel Katz for electing me as CEO and for the opportunity and possibility to advance the energy economy in Israel under his leadership. Thank you for the trust, the challenge and the task you have entrusted to me. With the overlap I have undergone, a new, fascinating, interesting and full world has opened up to me Challenges that affect aspects of citizens’ lives in terms of basic needs, whether it is electricity, water, fuel, natural gas, and in short, everything that affects the day-to-day life of citizens and the state’s economy. I found in the office an amazing group of professional employees who help me in entering my position and I asked them to continue the game the group in order to promote the important national tasks of the ministry”.