Saudi blackouts due to old power stations

• 11 years ago (2012-08-04)
• David Flin

Middle East 311

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Abdullah Al-Shehri, Governor of the Electricity and Cogeneration Regulatory Authority (ECRA) of Saudi Arabia, said that the frequent blackouts and poor power supply quality to cities around the country this summer are the result of aged power stations. He said: “The implementation of several mega-projects has prevented the Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) from utilising its income to replace old equipment. Instead, the company conducts periodical maintenance of several stations that have outlived their life expectancy, which in turn affects the quality of service. Demand for electricity in Saudi Arabia is increasing by 9 percent per year.”

He said that the poor performance of electricity networks in many cities is being improved, and Saudi Arabia is investing $120 billion over the next 10 years to increase power generation. More relay power stations and networks are being set up in different parts of the country, and once complete, they will be linked to the central power grid. Old equipment will be replaced with newer, more efficient models. Al-Shehri said: “These projects will cost a huge amount of money. They should be implemented in a timely manner and properly so that they can absorb increasing demand.”

ECRA has asked the SEC to provide it with reports on the power outages that have taken place in several regions of the country. ECRA will study the reports and see whether the reasons for power failures were beyond the SEC’s control. If it determines that the blackouts occurred because SEC was negligent and didn’t take precautionary measures, a fine will be imposed on it, and the owners of houses who incurred losses because of power failures will be compensated.