EGYPT WORKING ON A PLAN TO REPLACE ISRAEL'S CUT-OFF OF GAZA ELECTRIC POWER

ASSOCIATED PRESS - Egypt is working on a plan with the Palestinians to supply all the besieged Gaza Strip's electricity needs and wean it off its reliance on Israel for power, an Egyptian energy official said. . . Under the plan, Egypt - which already supplies a small part of Gaza's electricity - would increase the number of power lines linking it to Gaza and provide Palestinians with some 250 megawatts, said Izzat Ibrahim, a senior official of Sinai's National Electricity Power Company. . . Ten of the 17 power lines supplying Gaza currently come from Israel, five from a local power plant and two from Egypt. Gaza's consumption increases by about 10 percent a year, and the strip currently needs about 240 megawatts.