Dhofar power demand soars by 12 per cent

22/04/2014 06:52 AST

Electricity customers in Dhofar region moved up by 10 per cent to touch 80,000, while demand for power rose at a faster rate of 12 per cent to 420 megawatt by the end of last year.

This is against a three per cent growth in developed countries in energy consumption and eight per cent growth in main inter-connected system (MIS), Eng Ali Issa Ali Shamas, chief executive officer of Dhofar Power Company told Times of Oman.

He said it is very difficult to meet this kind of growth in demand and therefore, the company is launching an energy conservation campaign today with the slogan 'our energy is wealth and rationalisation is culture.'

"Our region (Dhofar) has probably the highest growth in energy consumption. We are trying to contain it by one or two per cent by creating awareness on energy conservation among the general public," Ali Shamas said, adding; "We need to add one power station in every four to five years if we do not contain growth in energy use. If we bring down energy consumption by one or two per cent, we could delay new plants by one or two years."

According to Oman Power and Water Procurement (OPWP) Company, the average demand for power per annum in Salalah is expected to touch 800MW by 2020 in normal circumstances.

OPWP last year floated a tender to pre-qualify companies for developing an independent power project with a generation capacity in the region of 300MW-400MW at Raysut in Salalah. The successful bidder of Salalah IPP 2 will have to take over the existing plant of Dhofar Power Company (DPC). However, Ali Shamas said that the present power capacity is enough to meet energy demand in Dhofar region up to 2017.

Ali Shamas also noted that the mind set of people will have to undergo a change for conserving energy and two-third of energy consumption is from households.

He also noted that Dhofar grid is now connected to Petroleum Development Oman's grid, and therefore it is easy to buy power in case of requirement during summer months of May and June.

The energy conservation campaign, which will be held between April 22 and May 21, will be inaugurated in Salalah under the auspices of Dr. Rasheed bin Al Safi Al Huraibi, chairman of the Tender Board.

The campaign will focus on the growing domestic consumption of electric power.

"We call upon all citizens and residents to react with the aims of the campaign and participate with its programmes for the sake of public interest," he added. The end of the campaign will coincide with the Arab Energy Efficiency Day.

Times of Oman