15 September 2015
Muscat Electricity Distribution Company (MEDC), a subsidiary of The Electricity Holding Company (Nama Group), will invest around RO 60 million in the expansion and modernisation of its supply infrastructure in 2015, according to a senior official of the wholly government-owned utility.
Ala Hassan Moosa, Senior Manager -- Projects Delivery, said the outlay will unlock significant business and contracting opportunities for Omani firms serving the Sultanate's burgeoning electricity sector.
Speaking at the Dossier Construction Awards Summit that was held in the city recently, Moosa said the lion's share of the outlay has been earmarked for the expansion of the utility's 11kV and 33kV networks.
"MEDC's capital outlay for 2015 includes around RO 23 million for 11kV investments, and RO 32 million towards 33kV investments, as well as RO 5 million for a variety of other projects. This does not include allocations towards unplanned expenditure necessitated by unforeseen developments, such as equipment breakdowns, and so on. With budgetary spends for 2016 and 2017 expected to be largely in line with 2015 expenditure trend, Omani contractors and service providers can look forward to substantial business opportunities from MEDC," he said.
The utility, said Moosa, plans to invest millions of Omani rials in the construction of as many as nine primary stations, the installation of dozens of power transformers, and the laying of 33kV and 11kV cables across significant swathes of Muscat Governorate, its zone of operation.
Other subsidiaries of the Nama Group, which includes electricity generation, transmission and distribution utilities, are planning similar investments estimated to total around RO 429 million for 2015, he said. This compares with investments of around RO 363 million in 2014, and RO 278 million in 2013, he noted.
Driving these investments, the official explained, is the phenomenal growth in electricity demand in the Sultanate. "The peak demand load within the Main Interconnected System (MIS), served by the Muscat, Majan and Mazoon distribution companies, is projected to soar to 9.5 gigawatts in 2021, up from 5.2 gigawatts in 2014, entailing an annual growth rate of around 9 per cent. Energy consumption is projected to grow at a similar rate from around 25 terawatt-hours in 2014 to 47 terawatt-hours in 2021," he said.
In Dhofar Governorate, which is served by the Salalah System, electricity demand is projected to burgeon at an annual rate of around 10 per cent to 839 megawatts in 2021, up from 439 megawatts in 2014.
The Rural Areas Electricity Company (RAECO), also a subsidiary of Nama Group, has logged the fastest growth in electricity demand, recording a spike of 14.8 per cent in 2014 versus 2013, the official said.
Muscat Electricity Distribution Company (MEDC), a subsidiary of The Electricity Holding Company (Nama Group), will invest around RO 60 million in the expansion and modernisation of its supply infrastructure in 2015, according to a senior official of the wholly government-owned utility.
Ala Hassan Moosa, Senior Manager -- Projects Delivery, said the outlay will unlock significant business and contracting opportunities for Omani firms serving the Sultanate's burgeoning electricity sector.
Speaking at the Dossier Construction Awards Summit that was held in the city recently, Moosa said the lion's share of the outlay has been earmarked for the expansion of the utility's 11kV and 33kV networks.
"MEDC's capital outlay for 2015 includes around RO 23 million for 11kV investments, and RO 32 million towards 33kV investments, as well as RO 5 million for a variety of other projects. This does not include allocations towards unplanned expenditure necessitated by unforeseen developments, such as equipment breakdowns, and so on. With budgetary spends for 2016 and 2017 expected to be largely in line with 2015 expenditure trend, Omani contractors and service providers can look forward to substantial business opportunities from MEDC," he said.
The utility, said Moosa, plans to invest millions of Omani rials in the construction of as many as nine primary stations, the installation of dozens of power transformers, and the laying of 33kV and 11kV cables across significant swathes of Muscat Governorate, its zone of operation.
Other subsidiaries of the Nama Group, which includes electricity generation, transmission and distribution utilities, are planning similar investments estimated to total around RO 429 million for 2015, he said. This compares with investments of around RO 363 million in 2014, and RO 278 million in 2013, he noted.
Driving these investments, the official explained, is the phenomenal growth in electricity demand in the Sultanate. "The peak demand load within the Main Interconnected System (MIS), served by the Muscat, Majan and Mazoon distribution companies, is projected to soar to 9.5 gigawatts in 2021, up from 5.2 gigawatts in 2014, entailing an annual growth rate of around 9 per cent. Energy consumption is projected to grow at a similar rate from around 25 terawatt-hours in 2014 to 47 terawatt-hours in 2021," he said.
In Dhofar Governorate, which is served by the Salalah System, electricity demand is projected to burgeon at an annual rate of around 10 per cent to 839 megawatts in 2021, up from 439 megawatts in 2014.
The Rural Areas Electricity Company (RAECO), also a subsidiary of Nama Group, has logged the fastest growth in electricity demand, recording a spike of 14.8 per cent in 2014 versus 2013, the official said.
© Oman Daily Observer 2015
