May 06, 2013
Muscat: United Power Company (UPC), the first independent power project in Oman, yesterday said that its Manah power plant located in Nizwa has successfully clocked over 6,000 loss time incident (LTI) free days.
The duration of incident free days achieved at the Manah power plant sets a new operational safety record in Oman and is thought to be amongst highest on record for a gas turbine power generation facility anywhere in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states.
"UPC maintains and complies with the highest industry standards of health and safety and our operations at the Manah power plant are reflective of the strict guidelines which are adhered to. In addition to constantly enforcing the significance of safety in our business, we have also initiated the process of a regular third party health and safety audit to undertake a proactive approach and ensure that these standards are being upheld," said Zoher Karachiwala, CEO of UPC.
"I would also like to take this opportunity to personally congratulate every employee, stakeholder and contractor who has made it possible for us to achieve over 6000 LTI free days - with a special mention to SOGEX who were the plant operators from 1996 until 2009 and STOMO (a GDF Suez group company) who have since taken over.
We are confident that with their continuous support, this number will surely rise in the future," he added. The Manah power station, which commenced operations in September 1996, broke new ground as it was the first privately owned and operated gas turbine power plant in Sultanate and the first privately owned power generation facility to interconnect with the country's national power grid. This model of private power generation companies partnering with the Government of Oman has set the benchmark for which all other power plants in the Sultanate have since been commissioned.
Health and safety are of paramount priority in the power sector and statistics have shown that the Manah power station demonstrates a consistent record of excellence in this regard. United Power Company regularly participates in safety walks and safety committee meetings alongside their numerous contractors, reinforcing the importance of the cause.
As a continuation from previous success, UPC will undertake a third party health and safety audit to ensure that safety standards are being maintained and to suggest any improvements that would help better the existing policies and procedures.
STOMO, which operates the Manah power plant, is currently obtaining international standards such as the ISO 14001 environmental management system and OHSAS 18001 for Health and Safety Management to increase operational excellence.
The UPC model of private power generation has become an acknowledged success in the Sultanate. In addition to having paid off all long term international and local loans, UPC also boasts having rewarded its shareholders regular dividends since 1996 and has also returned 75 per cent of the capital to respective stakeholders.
"We have approval to carry out further repatriation of invested capital to our investors until the outstanding capital reduces to OMR5 million," noted Karachiwala, while explaining the company's ongoing move to return a major portion of the capital to the stakeholders over a period of time.
© Times of Oman 2013
