Omani Power Sector to Regulate Electricity Losses

The Authority for Electricity Regulation Oman is targeting a significant reduction in electricity losses, which presently eat away almost a fifth of the Sultanate's total electricity output. Technical and non-technical losses accounted for 18.9% of total units entering the power systems of the Sultanate in 2009. This was marginally lower than the previous year's figure of 18.9%, according to the Authority.

Losses within the Main Interconnected System (MIS), which covers much of the northern half of the Sultanate, declined slightly to 19.1% in 2009 from 19.4% a year earlier. However, losses within the Salalah Power System, which covers Dhofar Governorate, rose to 19.2 per cent in 2009 from 16.9 per cent in 2008, an increase attributed to the operation of the system in "stressful conditions". On the other hand, the Rural Areas Electricity Company (RAEC), which serves remote locations outside of the MIS and Salalah systems, reported a strong decline in electricity losses to around 10 per cent, according to the regulator.

The Authority, whose brief also includes a mandate to boost power sector efficiency, has a long-term target for bringing down technical losses within the MIS to between 7% and 9%. In intermediate target set by the regulator for technical losses reduction within the MIS is 14 % for 2011. In fact, system losses within the MIS have been on a declining trend since the power sector was fully restructured in 2005.- Oman Observer