OETC invests RO 64m in new power networks

MUSCAT: Oman Electricity Transmission Company (OETC), member of Nama Group, has announced the successful completion of a number of key network projects in various governorates of the Sultanate of Oman at a total cost of over RO 64 million. The projects will contribute to enhancing the stability and reliability of electrical networks across the country.

Notable is the North-South Interconnection Project (Rabt), which will link the Main Interconnected System (MIS) of North Oman with the Dhofar System, while also integrating the Duqm System and that of Petroleum Development Oman (PDO).

The strategic project is being implemented in two phases.

The first phase, which extends from the North to Duqm and the Wilayat of Mahout, is currently being implemented in five stages, involving the construction of five 400 kV grid stations and associated overhead lines running across more than than 660 km. This phase is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2023.

Phase 2, currently in design, will feature three grid 400 kV grid stations and over 500 km of overhead lines. This phase is expected to be completed by the end of 2026.

Eng Saleh bin Nasser al Rumhi, Chief Executive Officer - OETC, said the interconnection project will enhance investment inflows into Duqm Special Economic Zone. Additionally, it will attract investments in renewable and green energy projects in Al Wusta and Dhofar governorates. As the new electrical backbone of the country, the Rabt project will enable the cost-competitive production of green energy to consumers, he noted.

In other projects completed and delivered by OETC, a 220 kV grid station was built in the Wilayat of Ibri to evacuate power from the newly operational Ibri Solar Power Project. It is first electricity transmission station linked to major solar power plant in the Sultanate of Oman.

As part of the RO 7.5 million investment, electricity output from the solar plant is transferred directly to the main network by 220 kV ground cables and then onward to OETC’s main network via overhead transmission lines.

In Al Dhahirah Governorate, a new 132/33 kV grid station has been completed in the Wilayat of Yanqul at a cost of RO 6 million. A similar project, centring on a 132/220kV grid station, has been constructed at Al Khabourah in North Al Batinah Governorate at a cost of RO 11 million.

In Muscat Governorate, the company completed the construction of Al Khoudh Station, 132/33 kV, and the associated transmission lines at a cost of RO 8 million. The company also completed the construction of Al Maabela Industrial Station, 132/33 kV, and its associated transmission lines.

In Al Dakhiliyah Governorate, OETC completed the construction of a 400 KV overhead transmission line from Izki all the way to Misfah in the Governorate of Muscat. Total investment in the 120-km overhead line project is over more than RO 10 million.

In Dhofar Governorate, OETC invested RO 11 million in the construction of a new 132 / 33 kV grid station at Mirbat.