In 1919, Rutenberg appeared in Paris and joined other Zionist leaders, preparing propositions for the Treaty of Versailles.
Promoting the electrification plan, he received financial support from Baron Edmond James de Rothschild and his son James A. de Rothschild and, finally, settled in Palestine to realize it.

However, his first contribution after arrival was establishing, together with Jabotinsky, the Jewish self-defense militia, the Haganah.
Rutenberg was the chief officer of these troops in Tel Aviv during the Arab hostilities in 1921.

He participated in the demarcation of Mandatory Palestine's northern border, defining British and French areas of interest.

In 1921 – over fierce Arab-Palestinian protests against giving the Yishuv an economic stranglehold of the country – the British granted Rutenberg the Jaffa and (later) the Jordan electricity concessions.
The Jaffa concession had been the first to have been executed.
 Operating under the name of the Jaffa Electric Company, Rutenberg in 1923 built a grid that gradually covered Jaffa, Tel-Aviv, neighboring (mainly Jewish) settlements, and the British military installations in Sarafend.
The grid was powered by diesel engines, in contrast to the original commitment of Rutenberg to build a hydro-electric power station on the Auja (Yarkon) river.

In 1923, Rutenberg founded the Palestine Electric Corporation.
Following initial difficulties in launching the project, he sought and received support from then Colonial Secretary Winston Churchill.
Rutenberg invited influential British politics, Lord Herbert Samuel and Lord Reading, as well as Hugo Hirst, the Director of The General Electric Company, to be members of his Corporation Council.

The formidable achievement of Rutenberg was the "First Jordan Hydro-Electric Power House" at Naharayim on the Jordan River, which opened in 1930, and earned him the nickname "The Old Man of Naharayim".
Other power plants were built in Tel Aviv, Haifa, Tiberias which supplied all of Palestine.
Jerusalem was the only part of the Mandatory Palestine not supplied by Rutenberg's plants.
The concession for Jerusalem was granted by the Ottoman Empire to Greek Euripides Mavromatis.
After Palestine was conquered by British forces, Mavromatis resisted Palestine Electric Company's attempts of building a power station that would serve 
Jerusalem.
Only in 1942, when his British-Jerusalem Electric Corporation failed to supply the demands of the city, did the Mandatory government ask the Palestine Electric Company to take over the responsibility for supplying electricity to Jerusalem.

Rutenberg died in 1942 in Jerusalem.
A large modern power station near Ashkelon is named after him.
Additionally, streets in Ramat Gan and Netanya are named in his honor.
In 1919, Rutenberg appeared in Paris and joined other Zionist leaders, preparing propositions for the Treaty of Versailles. Promoting the electrification plan, he received financial support from Baron Edmond James de Rothschild and his son James A. de Rothschild and, finally, settled in Palestine to realize it.
However, his first contribution after arrival was establishing, together with Jabotinsky, the Jewish self-defense militia, the Haganah. Rutenberg was the chief officer of these troops in Tel Aviv during the Arab hostilities in 1921.
He participated in the demarcation of Mandatory Palestine's northern border, defining British and French areas of interest.
In 1921 – over fierce Arab-Palestinian protests against giving the Yishuv an economic stranglehold of the country – the British granted Rutenberg the Jaffa and (later) the Jordan electricity concessions. The Jaffa concession had been the first to have been executed.  Operating under the name of the Jaffa Electric Company, Rutenberg in 1923 built a grid that gradually covered Jaffa, Tel-Aviv, neighboring (mainly Jewish) settlements, and the British military installations in Sarafend. The grid was powered by diesel engines, in contrast to the original commitment of Rutenberg to build a hydro-electric power station on the Auja (Yarkon) river.
In 1923, Rutenberg founded the Palestine Electric Corporation. Following initial difficulties in launching the project, he sought and received support from then Colonial Secretary Winston Churchill. Rutenberg invited influential British politics, Lord Herbert Samuel and Lord Reading, as well as Hugo Hirst, the Director of The General Electric Company, to be members of his Corporation Council.
The formidable achievement of Rutenberg was the "First Jordan Hydro-Electric Power House" at Naharayim on the Jordan River, which opened in 1930, and earned him the nickname "The Old Man of Naharayim". Other power plants were built in Tel Aviv, Haifa, Tiberias which supplied all of Palestine. Jerusalem was the only part of the Mandatory Palestine not supplied by Rutenberg's plants. The concession for Jerusalem was granted by the Ottoman Empire to Greek Euripides Mavromatis. After Palestine was conquered by British forces, Mavromatis resisted Palestine Electric Company's attempts of building a power station that would serve 
Jerusalem. Only in 1942, when his British-Jerusalem Electric Corporation failed to supply the demands of the city, did the Mandatory government ask the Palestine Electric Company to take over the responsibility for supplying electricity to Jerusalem.
Rutenberg died in 1942 in Jerusalem. A large modern power station near Ashkelon is named after him. Additionally, streets in Ramat Gan and Netanya are named in his honor.
Pinhas Rutenberg