Saudi Arabia Hikes Generation Capacity

Saudi Electricity Co (SEC) said it has been able to add 2,615 megawatts of electric power to its power generation capacity in the first half of 2010 bringing its effective capacity to 40,496 MW. The additional capacity came from the company’s gas-fired units, SEC said in the report, adding that the total 40,496 MW capacity included 607 MW from leased generation units, a local Arabic daily said.

The quantity of power generated by SEC’s plants grew 1.6 percent to 87,456 gigawatts in the first half compared with the same period a year earlier, it adds. The maximum daily load reached 44,207 MW, up 10.4 percent from a year earlier, the report on SEC’s performance during the first half, said according to the daily. The number of SEC’s subscribers increased over the period by more than 154,000 to about 5.84 million, the report said. SEC on Monday said it approved the award of US$3.92 billion worth of power projects to meet rising demand. The award includes expansion of the Rabigh power plant and other power transmission and generation projects, SEC said in a statement on the Saudi bourse website. – Saudi Gazette