BLOGS

Over the years, Oman has witnessed a significantly rising demand for power owing to rapid urban and industrial expansion. According to the Oman Power and Water Procurement Company (OPWP), the peak demand for power in the main interconnected system (MIS) is expected to continue growing at a brisk rate of 5% every year from 6,168MW in 2018 to 8,600MW in 2025. Similarly, the peak demand is expected to grow at 6% every year from 539MW in 2018 to 827MW in 2025. Thus, the total demand for power is expected to breach 9400MW by 2025.

These projections are developed on the basis of:

1. Quantitative analysis of weather and macroeconomic demand drivers
2. Consultation with the electricity distribution companies
3. Historical growth trends and
4. Assessment of past forecasts against actuals

So, to meet this expected power demand, it is time for Oman to press with reforms in the electricity sector, starting with expanding the country’s electricity generation capacity by building solar and wind power plants along with increasing the capacity of the installed plants.

Also, with the adoption of fuel diversification policy, it is imperative that at least 10% of power generation should be using renewable sources by 2025, primarily onshore wind and solar. Moreover, to accommodate the new generation capacity and incorporate the changes in power flow resulting from the retirement of existing plants and meet future power demand, the grid operator OETC has announced plans to develop around 685 km of new transmission lines, 15,251 MVA of transformer capacity and 18 new substations up until 2021.

To ensure that rising demands are successfully met, Oman is all geared to add around 4 GW of net generation capacity by 2021. Therefore, it is crucial for the country to successfully execute the planned projects for a better power distribution system and meet the energy challenges in future.