The power station was named after Levi Eshkol, former Prime Minister of Israel.

In 1953, following an Israeli Government decision, surveyors and designers arrived at the desolate dunes to choose a site to build a new power station in the south of the country.

Between 1975 and 1977 a total of four 228 MW fuel oil driven thermal generation units in two blocks came online, making the station Israel’s largest power plant at the time.

At the same time two combined-cycle natural gas turbines were also added to the site with a total capacity of 770 MW.

Due to their age and low efficiency, the IEC intends to decommission the four thermal units at the site by 2019.