Israel’s Energy Leaders Gather to Test the Country’s Resilience
Israel’s energy sector is gathering this week in Herzliya for Energy Summit 2026, the annual conference of the Israel Energy and Environment Institute, under the theme “Resilience, Independence and Regional Future.” The event comes as energy has become central to national security, the cost of living, industry, transport, data centers, AI development, foreign relations, and Israel’s place in the Middle East.
The summit will examine how to maintain energy continuity in routine and emergency conditions, and whether Israel is ready for a future crisis. Among the participants are Energy and Infrastructure Minister Eli Cohen, U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee, Chevron’s Eastern Mediterranean regional head Jack Baker, institute chairman Yossi Rosen, Energy Ministry director general Yossi Dayan, NewMed Energy CEO Yossi Abu, and senior executives from Israel’s major energy companies, the Israel Electric Corporation, the Finance Ministry, Noga, the private power producers forum and the Innovation Authority.
Rosen said recent wars in the Middle East have shaken assumptions about regional energy security. “Energy facilities, once seen as rear-area and relatively protected infrastructure, became attack targets,” he said, adding that shipping routes are no longer guaranteed and that fuel and electricity supply are now part of national defense. He also pointed to artificial intelligence, data centers and rising electricity demand as reasons energy policy can no longer rely on normal times assumptions.
Abu said Israel’s long investment in natural gas laid the foundations of its energy security and helped turn it into a regional exporter, but argued that major new opportunities remain. He said the Energy Ministry has already issued new exploration licenses in Israel’s economic waters, including Block I, where SOCAR operates with BP and NewMed Energy, and cited possible oil prospects in “Leviathan Deep.” He called for a stable regulatory environment to encourage more exploration and investment.
Keren Barak, chair of the Private Natural Gas Power Producers Forum, said the regulator’s 2025 electricity report shows the reform is working, with private producers generating about 60% of Israel’s electricity in 2024. She argued that private projects are faster and cheaper, while delays in major Israel Electric Corporation projects are costing the public billions of shekels. Barak said electricity demand is rising sharply because of electric vehicles, electrified public transport, data centers and broader electrification, and that the country is expected to invest about NIS 90 billion in networks, generation and storage by the end of the decade.
