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EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

RO 60m power infrastructure investment in Musandam

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The Rural Areas Electricity Company (RAECO), part of Nama Group (The Electricity Holding Company) is investing around RO 37 million in the development of a major transmission network in Musandam Governorate that will allow for newly introduced natural gas electricity supply to be delivered to towns and villages across this rugged and mountainous enclave in the north of the Sultanate. The project is one of several initiatives by RAECO to develop and modernise power transmission capacity across the governorate in line with a broader strategy to phase out cost-ineffective diesel-based generation capacity, while also strengthening coverage in remote areas currently served by small, standalone plants.


The Musandam Transmission Project, the state-owned utility said, effectively replaces the existing 33kv network with 132kV transmission lines. “The transmission system being built by RAECO will be fed by a new 120 MW gas-fired central power plant (Musandam Independent Power Project — MIPP) built at Tibat by Musandam Power Company. MIPP will utilise the natural gas resources of Oman to generate electricity,” the utility stated in a tweet.


Electricity supplied from the Musandam plant will be transmitted via the new network to load centres in Tibat, Khasab and Dibba. Upon the commissioning of the network, RAECO plans to shut down its existing diesel-based power stations at Khasab and Dibba, as much of Musandam switches to gas-based power supply for the first time.


However, as an abundant safeguard against potential supply disruptions, RAECO is also establishing a new diesel-based power plant in Khasab with an investment of around RO 24 million. The plant will comprise a total of six diesel power units each offering 13.6 MW of capacity. A two-year timeframe has been envisioned for its implementation.


“This project will provide back-up power supply to RAECO customers in the event of any power disruption from Musandam IPP in Tibat or due to any breakdown in the 132kV overhead line, especially since this grid is isolated from Oman’s main transmission network,” the utility noted.


“The advantage of this project is that it will improve the reliability of the electrical power system in the region, as well as meet future load demand in the area, as it can run in parallel with the main Musandam IPP.”


New investments in network enhancements are also under way elsewhere around the governorate. Notable is a project to install an antenna cable, as well as ground cables, from the new Khasab Power Station to Kumzar, an isolated village accessible only by boat. Growing electricity demand in the village, home to around 310 customers, has necessitated investments in a 33kv line that will bring this popular tourist attraction into the local grid. The project, which began in 2014, is scheduled to be completed only by the end of this year, underscoring the challenges of laying networks across one of Oman’s most rugged landscapes.


According to RAECO, all of these investments underscore the utility’s commitment to meeting the power growth needs of Musandam Governorate, which accounts for 40 per cent of the company’s total national subscriber base. Forty-four per cent of the company’s total electricity output is also consumed in the


governorate.


Importantly, the shift to gas-based electricity supply will help dramatically reduce the utilisation of expensive diesel as the fuel resource for power generation in the governorate. A staggering 100 million litres of diesel was consumed last year to support electricity generation in the governorate.


Conrad Prabhu


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