Thousands of jellyfish clog Israeli power plant

Israel Electric Company workers forced to clean out thousands of jellyfish that got sucked into the Ashkelon power plant cooling water system.

By Paul Shindman, World Israel News

Workers at the Israel Electric Company power plant in the southern coastal city of Ashkelon worked overtime Thursday to remove thousands of jellyfish that had been sucked into the cooling system and threatened to disrupt power.

The power plant, which is located on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea just north of the Gaza Strip uses sea water for cooling. A massive swarm of jellyfish – a seasonal phenomenon that plagues Israel’s beaches every summer – came near the intake pipes and got sucked into the power plant, threatening to clog the pumps.

“Since last night, Ashkelon power plant workers struggled against a wave of thousands of jellyfish that came into the station via the seawater,” the Israel Electric Company said on its Facebook page. “For the electric company, this is a real danger that can disrupt the production processes at the station.”

Workers had to clean the pipes of thousands of the blue-colored blobs that are an annoyance to swimmers because of the burning venom they excrete. A video posted on the company’s Facebook page showed hundreds of bright blue jellyfish, with a few giant white jellyfish mixed in, being washed down a chute into a giant bin.

The electric company said among the jellyfish they also found a sea turtle, who was uninjured and released back into the sea.