Magazine Issue (5) 2015
“GCC Electrical Interconnection Complete with Oman Joining the Network”
OMAN ELECTRICITY TRANSMISSION COMPANY S.A.O.C. www.omangrid.com
OMAN ELECTRICITY TRANSMISSION COMPANY S.A.O.C. 1 Magazine objectives: • Introduce community and company employees to the company’s activities and events. • Communicate scientific, cultural and sports news to employees to keep them abreast of the latest developments • Publish useful knowledge for the benefit of company employees • Provide advice and guidance to employees on various important topics • Keep employees aware of important requirements of health and occupational safety • Update employees on the latest company-introduced technologies • Highlight completed, ongoing and future projects undertaken by the company
Supervision: • Eng. Thani Mohamed Salim Al-Khusaibi • Dr. Adil Ghalib Khalifa Al Busaidi • Eng. Alastair Johnson • Mr. Ali Mohammed Jawad Al Abdullatif • Mr. Rafat Khaleel Abdullah Al Bahadleh
Editorial family:
Ahmed Khalfan Sulaiman Khalifa Said Salim Qais Rashid Said Saad Al Riyami Sulaiman Al Riyami Al Musalti Al Shidi
P.O.Box: 1389, PC: 132, Al-Khoudh - Sultanate of Oman, Tel: +968 91408646 Fax: +968 22309045 www.omangrid.com
2 OMAN ELECTRICITY TRANSMISSION COMPANY S.A.O.C. OMAN ELECTRICITY TRANSMISSION COMPANY S.A.O.C. 3 News
Studies and reports
Issues
Training courses
Participations
Activities and events
Interviews
Projects
Break In This Issue: Issue contest TENT
CEO’s Word 6 OETC at Gulf Cigre Conference 29 Editor-in-Chief’s Word 8 The Issue 30 GCC Electrical Interconnection 10 Near Miss 31 Honoring of High Performers 14 Provision of 4G Broadband Facility 32 Practical Training on Crisis Management 14 6 Agreements Worth more than R.O. 87 million 34 Get Ready for Emergencies 15 OETC Conducted a Number of Workshops 35 Labour Union Under Focus 16 Comprehensive Asset Management Training Program 36 The Five Strategies 18 Accounting for Non-accountants Course 37 Interview with an Employee 20 Sports Activities on Bausher Sands 38 Risk Management Rules 22 Internal Football Championship 39 Memory 23 Master Plan of Oman (2014-2030) 40 Knowledge Sharing Conference 26 Issue Break 52
CON Participating in Dossier Conference 28 Competition 54
4 OMAN ELECTRICITY TRANSMISSION COMPANY S.A.O.C. OMAN ELECTRICITY TRANSMISSION COMPANY S.A.O.C. 5 Asset Management
“Asset Management” is a common term widely used nowadays, though as an expression it may not be familiar to laymen. The term, broadly defined, refers to a combination of administrative, financial, economic and engineering practices as well as other practices that can be applied to material assets with the aim of providing the required level of service in a cost-effective manner.
With this definition, we can draw closer to the exact good management of all risks relating to various stages meaning of this term which we believe is not yet of asset lifecycle. known to some people. Asset management is known to be consistent and aligned practices and activities that The new asset management system is required to derive include the management of the entire asset lifecycle its objectives directly from the Company’s strategic goals Eng. Ali bin Said Al Hadabi (design, building, assignment, operation, maintenance, such as network reliability and standard of service provided Chief Executive Officer deployment, modification, replacement and suspension to customers. The evaluation of the risks in the light of the of operation/disposal of material assets and infrastructure Company’s strategic objectives and the impact of events assets). on the Company are the main elements of the new asset Since its inception, OETC has possessed a solid system for management system. This is a new concept that has asset management covering to a wider extent the network never existed before for all fields of our operations. operational aspects. Since the network performance was Through this system, OETC is committed to the continuing not to the required standard at the beginning of the operation of the electricity transmission network such Company’s drive, we have basically focused our decisions that such it is kept stable and secure in order to ensure over the past period on the network performance. continuity of electrical supply to all areas, together with The assets management system in the past was the development of the network in compatibility with characterized by isolationism for each stage of the the requirements of the country’s holistic economic and asset lifecycle. It was not easy to take feasible long- industrial development. term decisions. The information required for the proper decisions to be made was scattered making it difficult The scope of assets covered by this policy includes all to obtain and assess. The Company’s Management operational assets listed in the license granted to OETC, has adopted a modern concept of asset management including but not limited to transmission stations, overhead in order to plug the gaps between various stages of the lines and underground cables. A requirement of this asset lifecycle supported with standard working systems system is that there needs to be training and awareness and effective decision-making mechanisms based on programs on the concept of asset management with accurate and complete information. a view to enhancing skills of all employees working in The decision-making mechanism should not only take various stages of the asset lifecycle. Over the past period, into consideration the network performance, but it the Company has carried out general training courses and should also take into account the overall cost as well as awareness campaigns to generate understanding of the the evaluation of risks. concept of the new asset management system. Work is The company has adopted modern asset management still progressing to set up a structure for necessary skills for system commensurate with global standards by seeking those functions so that they can be taken as a reference to obtain PAS-55/ISO55000 Certification, which is an for future training and development plans. approved asset management qualification. In order to make such an important achievement, the Company From this platform, I call upon all OETC’s employees to put in place a roadmap to identify the requirements of support the asset management program with the aim this certificate which would secure an integrated asset of promoting the Company’s asset performance which management system covering all stages of asset lifecycle, would reflect directly on the overall performance within which would enable the company to promote efficiency the Company. May Allah help us all in the best interest of and effectiveness in asset management, in addition to this giving nation. Thank you all.
6 OMAN ELECTRICITY TRANSMISSION COMPANY S.A.O.C. OMAN ELECTRICITY TRANSMISSION COMPANY S.A.O.C. 7 First Line
When we started preparing this issue of the magazine, dear employees and readers, our main objective was to deliver a message that the OETC wants to convey with regard to electricity transmission. The job is not easy. Yet, the challenges augmented our determination to take you on a journey into various interesting topics right from the first lineof the magazine.
Fahad bin Rabia Al Tobi This distinguished issue of the Oman Grid development projects in service of the electricity Editor-in-Chief Magazine includes several articles, including transmission network. We had a talk with the Sultanate’s accession to the GCC our colleagues, Engineer Masoud al Riyami, Interconnection system, OETC’s participation Engineer Mohammed Al Mazrooi and Engineer in the Knowledge Sharing Conference the Mohammed Al Naamani who spoke about their Company is keen on holding on annual memories of past events. There are many other basis, and the Sultanate’s long-term electricity topics which I would like to let you cruise around. transmission plan which we embarked upon last year and which would continue until 2030. The semi-annual magazine contains interesting topics and seeks to help you achieve your goals. In this issue, you will read steps risk We may draw nearer to your working and scientific management policy and you will cruise to the objectives and we are keen on presenting to you Kingdom of Bahrain where you will familiarize all types of media support to ensure that you with the details of the GCC Cigre Conference attain such objectives as quickly as possible to and Exhibition and then you will come back to enable you to be well familiarized with the latest Oman to read what Said Al Jabri wrote about developments in our Company’s drive. his relationship with the Company’s Labor Union. Moreover, you will also get acquainted Undoubtedly, all opinions and topics enrich this with the Company’s achievements. publication and assist in propagating knowledge for the benefit of all. We are certain that you Our dialogue with Abeer Al Zadjali took us into will spare no effort to enrich your magazine wider prospects of contribution in the interest in its upcoming issues. Let us build bridges of of this nation. communication through this magazine. It is now We asked engineer Ali Al Hadabi about the in your hands waiting for you to begin with the R.O. 87 million of funding which went into first line.
8 OMAN ELECTRICITY TRANSMISSION COMPANY S.A.O.C. OMAN ELECTRICITY TRANSMISSION COMPANY S.A.O.C. 9 Project costs USD 1.5 billion The Sultanate of Oman has officially joined the Gulf Obvious translation Cooperation Council (GCC) Interconnection System The field work began to translate this article into GCC Electricity Interconnection Complete after signing an Accession Agreement whereby it reality in 1986 when a feasibility study on electrical joined the Gulf Cooperation Council Interconnection interconnection among GCC countries was With Oman Officially Joining the Network Authority (GCCIA). The signing ceremony was conducted as one of the joint projects patronized attended by His Excellency Darwish bin Ismail Al by the General Secretariat through a supervisory Balushi, Minister Responsible for Financial Affairs. committee comprising the member States. Financed by the Saudi Industrial Development Fund, the study The Sultanate will contribute its share of 5.6% of the was conducted by the Research Institute, Kuwait total cost of USD 1.5 billion and will transfer through and King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals the internal transmission system of the United Arab and Saudi House for Consultancy Services. The study Emirates. confirmed the feasibility of the project.
Project stages Muscat Summit The Gulf interconnection project is inspired by the In 1988, the constituent committee of the interconnection principles and objectives of the GCC and comes to project comprising the undersecretaries of the ministries epitomize the GCC standard economic agreement concerned with electrical affairs was directed to update with Article 19 of it providing that “the member the previous study with funding from the GCC States. States shall cooperate in the fields of land and sea That study was completed in 1990 and carried out by transport and communication and shall work a global consultancy company with the participation towards coordinating and setting up infrastructure of a GCC consultant, and with the assistance of the projects such as ports, airports, water and electricity International Gulf Bank. The findings of the second stations and roads such that this leads to achieving study confirmed the feasibility of the project technically, joint economic development and interconnection of financially and economically. The findings of this study Labor activities.” were approved in Muscat in 1995 by the GCC Supreme Council taking into account the recommendation of the study to implement the first stage of the project.
- Interconnection leads to achieving strategic support in cases of disasters and emergencies.
- OETC plays the role of contact point between the Sultanate and the GCC countries.
10 OMAN ELECTRICITY TRANSMISSION COMPANY S.A.O.C. OMAN ELECTRICITY TRANSMISSION COMPANY S.A.O.C. 11 network of the UAE to the GCC Interconnection It is noteworthy that the GCC Electricity Network and celebrated in a ceremony held in the Interconnection Authority has put in place two legally Emirate of Abu Dhabi on 20 April 2011. binding agreements to regulate the relationship among the participating countries. The first General Accession of the Sultanate Agreement signed by the GCC ministers of electricity The Sultanate joined the GCC Interconnection and water (first stage countries and UAE) and Authority following completion of all procedures for became effective from 23 March 2009. The second transition from the status of an observer member to Agreement, namely Power Exchange and Trading active member. The Sultanate is now working with Agreement (PETA) defines the obligations of the the other GCC countries to consolidate the electrical Authority, transmitting authorities and the authorities interconnection system to confront the challenges concerned with power exchange. It identifies of development and increasing demand, providing the rules and conditions regulating exchange high productivity capabilities coping with the GCC operations among the networks of the member economic developments and strengthening the Sultanate’s capacity for generation and provision of States. It also includes regulations and necessary electrical power, opening up the opportunity for GCC technical standards required to be complied with in electrical power exchange market to be set up. In order to achieve the requirements and uses of the Inception of Electricity Interconnection Project Stages Completion this way, the GCC electricity interconnection system interconnection network. The Agreement was signed Authority The various implementation operations began to be becomes complete. by the benefiting authorities in the participating The GCC countries agreed to set up the GCC carried out following the setting up of the Electricity countries and became effective from 17 June 2009. Interconnection Authority for the purpose of Interconnection Authority. The first stage was Advantages of GCC Electrical Interconnection interconnecting their electrical networks. The Royal completed in the first quarter of 2009 by connecting Stakeholders and observers see significant advantages Decree No. D/21 dated 28/7/2001 was issued setting the networks of the Kingdom of Bahrain, Kingdom in the GCC electricity interconnection project, most up this Authority to be based in Dammam, Saudi of Saudi Arabia, State of Qatar and State of Kuwait importantly that the participation of the interconnected Arabia. The Authority’s main duty is to implement which was commissioned by Their Majesties and countries will lead to reducing the reserve of generation and follow up the establishment of electrical power Their Highnesses the leaders of the GCC countries capabilities to half the current required total reserve. interconnection network among the GCC States and concurrently during their meeting at the 30th summit The interconnection also leads to achieving strategic then to operate and maintain the interconnected in Kuwait on 14 December 2009. The second stage backing in cases of major loss of power in any of the networks. was also completed by connecting the electrical countries in emergency cases. It is also useful for sharing spinning reserves up to 5,000 MW and providing principles for exchange of power among the GCC member States in service of the economic aspects, thus strengthening reliability. The interconnection also leads to consolidating power sector by increasing economic product in the GCC states, and serves to develop Gulf industries in the field of electrical equipment and spare parts thus minimizing necessary investments in electrical power sector.
OETC’s role OETC plays the role of contact point between Oman and other GCC countries entrusted with the operational process connecting the UAE network to Mahdha station and organizing coordination between the control center (load dispatch center) in the Sultanate and the GCC network control center in full compliance with the GCC Interconnection Transmission Code.
12 OMAN ELECTRICITY TRANSMISSION COMPANY S.A.O.C. OMAN ELECTRICITY TRANSMISSION COMPANY S.A.O.C. 13 Asset Management and Planning Department Honors Good Performing Employees Get The Asset Management and Planning Department has honored a number of good performing employees of the department who have made effective contributions over Ready for the past period. Emergency The honoring ceremony began with an address by Dr. Adil Al Busaidi, Manager of Asset Managemnet and Planning Department, in which he thanked the department’s Alerts employees for the continuing efforts that they have made to promote work over the past period and urged them to do yet more for further development of the department and the Company. The following good performing employees were honored: Omran Al Rawahi | Habash Al Habsi | Suad Al Bahlooli In Response to an Emergency, Practical Evacuation Drill The ceremony was attended by a number of the department’s staff. Carried out at Company’s Main Building
v We all concur that all of us should be well prepared to deal The instructions required the employees to comply with any emergency in a proper manner. Psychological with several steps upon hearing the alarm siren, preparedness has considerable impact on saving lives and namely the following: minimizing losses and damages, should any emergency occur. - Close office doors Load Dispatch Center Carries out Practical Training Exercise The HSE Department has recently carried out an evacuation - Get out of the building immediately from the drill at the Company’s new building, the aim being to nearest emergency exit on Crisis Management and Ways of Communication increase awareness and ensure safety of employees working - Refrain from using the lift in the building upon evacuation in emergency cases. The - Do not stop to collect personal belongings evacuation time was defined in advance for this drill to main network causing disruption of electricity supply. prepare employees for any further surprise drills so that - Be present at the assembly point The control engineers dealt with this scenario with all of them become aware of the evacuation plan already - Employees may return to the office or workplace high professionalism undertaking management of load conspicuously affixed on all building floors near the main after declaring the area safe by the fire emergency distribution and communicating with the generation entrance and emergency exits. supervisor stations and electricity distribution companies as well as The drill showed rapid response by employees to the safety These drills, conducted by OETC are meant to internally communicating with the concerned engineers instructions which were sent to the employees prior to the safeguard the safety of its employees and provide and technicians whose response was also rapid arriving exercise. them with risk-free, safe working environment. at the stations in a standard time.
According to the initial report of DNVGL which participated in auditing performance efficiency, the practical training was perfect in terms of response and distribution of roles among the participants. Many officials of the company The Load Dispatch Center (LDC) has recently took part in this training led by engineer Ali Al Hadabi, organized a practical training exercise on network company CEO, Senior Manager of Load Dispatch, and a crisis management and communication methods large number of managers and engineers. during crises. The scenario was that a complete disconnection occurred at the three generation Such training is considered to be one of the essential stations at Barka with loss of many of the requirements of crisis management and upon occurrence transmission substations from wide parts of the of overwhelming disconnections at the Company.
14 OMAN ELECTRICITY TRANSMISSION COMPANY S.A.O.C. OMAN ELECTRICITY TRANSMISSION COMPANY S.A.O.C. 15 Labor Unions of reference, namely representing and Under Focus defending the interests of its members and representing its members at their request as well as any other activity relating to consolidation and protection of the rights and interests of its members.”
Al Jabri explained the factors that led to decline of affiliation to Labor Unions by saying: “The number of persons affiliated to the Labor Unions has declined for several reasons, including fear of losing their jobs, feeling that the Labor Unions have nothing to offer, employees not needing Labor Union’s services and employees having no trust in Labor Union activity.”
Said Al Jabri stressed the necessity of raising the awareness of employees on the importance of Labor Union activity by strengthening the employees will and Chairman of OETC informing them that their rights are well preserved through Labor Union activity Labor Union and asking them to be patient and have confidence in their Labor Unions. He also called upon facility owners to realize that Said Al Jabri: We seek to have closer views between the two parties Labor Unions do not constitute an anti- in order to achieve the best results. Labor unions are important for lobby within the facility, but it is rather a constructive element believing in the fact developing performance and preserving employees’ rights. that positive dialogue is the only way to establish a proper working environment.
Labor Unions constitute an important addition to the organizational structure, objectives and clear terms private sector companies and establishments. They of reference. The Labor Union allows all employees contribute to uplifting the standard of employees to have their legal rights. It defends their rights in terms of their living, culture and social life, and before the Management, represents its members enable them to express their opinions using legal and defends their interests before judicial authorities In the end, the Chairman of OETC Labor Union emphasized that the Union’s objectives are to preserve methods. Through these Labor Unions, employees in accordance with the Ministerial Decision No. the confidentiality of issues pertinent to the employees, pursue a constructive dialogue approach can convey their demands about their work and their 249/2014 issued by the Ministry of Manpower.” among all parties, activate and highlight cordiality between the worker and the employer, and seek establishments. The need for Labor Unions emerged to develop the essential benefits of employees such as health benefits, job grades and promotion, HR Al Jabri added that there were several conditions with the industrial development of the world’s Manual, training and career development, rewards and bonuses. which must be satisfied by Labor Union officials. countries where Labor Unions had a significant role A Labor Union official should therefore have the The board members of the OETC Labor Union are Said Al Jabri, Ahmed Al Nadabi, Hazzaa Al Maawali, in bolstering humanitarian relations among all parties. qualities that encourage the worker to join the Saud Al Alawi and Mahmood Al Wahaibi. Keeping abreast of this development in the field of organization (modesty, credibility, conversance with employees’ rights, OETC set up its Labor Union the laws, good listening to workers’ concerns, ability to negotiate, and dedication to workers’ interests). two years ago. Said bin Khamis Al Jabri, Chairman of OETC’s Labor Union, said: “OETC’s Labor Union About the terms of reference of the Labor Union, Al consists of 50% of employees and has its own Jabri said: “The Labor Union exercises several terms
16 OMAN ELECTRICITY TRANSMISSION COMPANY S.A.O.C. OMAN ELECTRICITY TRANSMISSION COMPANY S.A.O.C. 17 connecting the sequence of accomplishment of tasks Sustainability policy was launched in September 2014 entrusted to the employees and contractors, making it together with its three social, environmental and economic easy to obtain any piece of information, accomplish the pillars. The launch took place in a press conference where tasks and ensure them. The contractors have been urged an agreement for financing the “Sharikati” Competition was to implement this system in their organizations. signed with Injaz Oman for the Academic Year 2014-15. In concurrence with the Global HSE System and for Fahad Al Tobi said: “By signing the “wiyakom” Initiative its enhanced implementation and creation of a safe with the Oman Network of Volunteers “Taawon” we aim environment, OETC seeks to achieve recognition in HSE to encourage volunteering activity in the Sultanate and management by obtaining OHSAS 18001 and ISO 14001 urge volunteers to effectively involve in community-based certifications in 2016. Positive steps have been achieved activities. The initiative is intended to instill this culture towards obtaining this recognition with the full support into the local community through provision of support and guidance of the OETC’s Executive Management. to various developmental projects involving volunteering About the asset management strategy, Dr. Adil Al Busaidi, teams which serve the social pillar of sustainability policy. Manager of Asset Management Department, said: “We He pointed out that the agreement included training have several new projects added in the context of the of about 600 employees of the Group on principles of Company’s assets management system. The first project volunteering and involvement in a whole volunteering featured gates which are project check points to ensure day, through the voluntary works group which Taawon that the project, since its commencement and during its has collected from various societies and non-profit implementation and design and planning period, had organizations within Muscat Governorate in the context genuine benefits related to the Company’s businesses. of Stage I of the project. “The asset management requirements necessitate the With regard to the environmental pillar of the policy, the presence of a clearly defined mechanism for investment Group has recently signed an agreement with the Oman Five Strategies on the Negotiating Table management and long-term financial and economic Environment Society to finance the setting up of a branch feasibility. The project requires implementing decisions of it in Salalah to contribute to various environmental rationally in order to preserve the Company’s resources Engineer Omer bin Khalfan Al Wahaibi, CEO of Electricity in the field of human resources. For the plan to be projects in that important part of the country. The Oman and optimally direct them. This requires the presence of a Environment Society will provide direct and indirect jobs Holding Group, met with the OETC’s employees in successfully carried out, cooperation of all is essential so clear mechanism for decision-making.” the presence of Engineer Ali Al Hadabi, OETC CEO, for that the direct and long-term advantages can be attained as a result of this project involving the Group’s employees familiarizing them with the sector’s five strategies. by the Company and employees. Dr. Adil Al Busaidi stressed that the calculation of cost in in Dhofar Governorate in the various activities of the the long term is a prerequisite in making any decision. Society, including cultivating more than 1,000 local trees. Engineer Omer Al Wahaibi provided detailed explanation With respect to the HSE Strategy, Asif Ali, Manager of “Today, we take into consideration risks management Work is currently in progress on establishing programs of the five pillars on which the Company’s strategy is built HSE Department, pointed out that the vision of the HSE and studies when taking every decision relating to the on capacity building project in coordination with the and the efforts being made by the Group for the success Department is to preserve the safety of all employees under Company. It has become important to take into account Utilities Center for Competence Development “UCCD” and development of these pillars. the umbrella of OETC, and to carry out several projects these important advanced sciences in order to achieve such as the change of HSE culture for both employees in environmental and economic fields for various age In an address, Engineer Ali Al Hadabi said that OETC’s the objectives desired from asset management.” and contractors by holding employee training course in groups throughout the Sultanate. employees were keen on implementing the leading order to enable them to acquire skills and experience and Fahad Al-Tobi, Publicity and Media Officer at the strategies of the Sultanate’s electricity sector. He Fahad Al Tobi emphasized that the “Bayti Aamin” – “My knowledge on the importance of preserving health, safety Company, spoke about the communications strategy commended their cooperation and keenness on Home is Safe” Initiative which was launched by the HSE and environment; and involving all OETC’s employees in and said: “We have several projects with respect to the attending all Company meetings in this context. overall communication strategy which is divided into Section of Al Ghubra Power Company aims to train nearly pre-planned collective activities such as Safety Day which 400 persons of the local community surrounding the The staff involved in OETC’s strategies made is held annually at various Governorates of the Sultanate. two sections, namely communication strategy, and sustainability strategy. We are working through the Company in the field of first aid and fire fighting related to presentations on the latest developments and milestones The overall objective of this Day is to involve all employees electricity, and avoidance of risk of fire occurrence. achieved by the Company with respect to its strategic and contractors in the event with a view to propagating communication projects to implement the new brand objectives. Zuhair Al Zidjali, Manager of HR Department, the ultimate goal which is the safety of all. “Nama Group” launched on 2 November 2014 in a In this context, three tenders serving the various stressed that the Electricity Holding Companies Group ceremony marking the opening of “Knowledge Sharing” sustainability pillars were also announced. The first tender One of the most important projects carried out in 2010 were carrying out the integrated talent management Conference. This is considered to be the first stage of the aims to prepare sustainability report for Nama Group as was the electronic safety system al-salamah@work framework (ITMF) with a road map being put in place for new identity and the official launch of the new brand will per the world standards in this field. The second tender which has greatly contributed to providing a database for three years commencing from 2015 and ending in 2017 taken place at the beginning of next year, Insha’Allah. concerns the staging of a unified national campaign to most of the HSE Department’s requirements. The system We are also working on the Group’s communication such that the project is carried out gradually. propagate the culture of power consumption reduction operates under the supervision of the parent company policy which is now in its final stages, as well as on among the citizens. The third tender seeks to measure The Manager of Human Resources added: “Through the Intelex which plays the role of preserving the confidentiality organizing the Knowledge Sharing Conference which the Group’s efforts in serving local added value. ITMF, which we hope will be beneficial to all citizens, each of information. The system is responsible for managing the Group is keen on holding annually with the support employee will have a clearly defined plan for development, HSE data with the possibility of viewing the data required of the Electricity Holding Group, to achieve world-class The gathering witnessed lengthy discussions between the training and career path that would achieve fairness of at any time by the concerned employees. The system standards with regard to quality, improved standard of CEO and employees with the participants and attendants rewarding better performing employees every year. The also enables the staff to obtain the HSE-related statistical customer services, and consolidation of communication interacting effectively with views brought forward for plan would also assist in developing the latest practices data and has a self-awareness feature. It assisted in with the local and global markets. discussion.
18 OMAN ELECTRICITY TRANSMISSION COMPANY S.A.O.C. OMAN ELECTRICITY TRANSMISSION COMPANY S.A.O.C. 19 job applicants using skills-related and personal tests implement training plans for a number of technical and and interviews followed by presentation of job offers in administrative departments in coordination and follow preparation for relocation of newly recruited employees. up with the training institutes and colleges. I also worked in the “Leaves Section” which was In September 2012, I applied for the post of Head concerned with preparing annual leave schedule, and of Payrolls & Benefits Section as I believed I had the organization of employees’ leaves in coordination with experiences, skills and requirements for the job, and I did various departments. Similarly, I worked at the “Pays win it thanks to Allah. In my capacity as Head of Payroll Section” where I had the chance to prepare employees’ & Benefits Section, I perform the duty of preparing HR salaries, monthly pays, leave pays, salaries for newly budget and following up wages, compensations and recruited employees; and preparation of entitlements benefits. of financial rewards and overtime pays and end of Each person has got his/her own objectives and service entitlements due to employment termination or ambitions which he/she looks forward to resignation; and bank transfers. achieving in the future. What are your objectives and expectations for the I also worked at the Job Training Center where I had future? the duty of identifying employees’ training requirements as per the annual training plan, in coordination with My objectives include working the concerned departments as well as following up towards developing the HR systems their implementation after being approved by the HR and management and train Department and evaluation of training and performance employees on human resources, development programs. I also worked at the Employees and provide advice with regard Loans Section where I provided a set of options and to the HR legislations and services to employees such as personal loans, car loans, regulations. and housing loans, and carried out daily checks of What is the message employees’ accounts. I was promoted to the post of that you would like to Employees’ Supervisor. deliver to the Company’s Dialogue with an Employee employees through this In September 2004, I had an employment opportunity magazine? with Omantel, in the HR Department. I was in fact one We are all seeking success. Some of us think it is difficult to My name is Abeer bint Mohammed bin Bahram Al of the founders of the HR Department in Oman Mobile, First of all, I would like be successful. The difference between success and failure Zadjali, married, mother of three. I work for OETC in the with only two employees, Head of HR Department and to thank each and every lies in whether you have the will to be successful or not. It capacity of Head of Payroll and Benefits section at the me. It was the Head of the Department, who selflessly employee of the Company is not force or knowledge that makes you successful. The Human Resources Department. assisted, encouraged and motivated me in my job. At that for his/her cooperation with secret of success is to look at the same things that others time I performed all duties relating to human resources. I the HR by using HR systems. I What about your education? look at, yet more positively and distinctively. was then appointed to the post of HR Senior Executive, also encourage the employees I hold a diploma in banking and financial studies and in that capacity I trained and qualified newly recruited to identify their future job Our guest in this issue of the magazine is Mrs. Abeer bint which I obtained from the College of Banking and employees to perform their duties at the department. I objectives and endeavor to Mohammed Al Zadjali, Head of Payroll & Benefits Section achieve working in the spirit Financial Studies and I will soon complete my B.Sc. in also activated HR Oracle system in cooperation with the of the Company. Human Resources at Majan University College. I also of teamwork and managing Training Department and concerned staff. I benefited a obtained an HR practice professional certificate from their duties conscientiously We began our interview with her with a simple question: lot and gained extensive experience in administrative and the Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development in order to achieve their financial affairs from the HR Department Manager with When did you begin to feel that you were a (CIPD), which is a professional organization specializing own objectives and the whom I worked for nearly four years. successful person? in human resources management (HRM). Company’s objectives. She answered saying: I began to feel confident when In August 2009, I obtained employment in the capacity I had that feeling of being on the right track in good How did you progress in your career? One last word! of HR System Manager with Zubair Group with my duties steps towards achieving my goals and ambitions. I began my career with Oman International Bank in including application of HR system, development of HR I thank all those who From here I started my move targeting clearly defined 1996 as an administrative staff at the Bank’s Human Regulations, and Employees’ Annual Evaluation System in are contributing objectives, which I endeavored to achieve with resolve Resources Department. During my employment with cooperation with the concerned staff in the field. to preparing this and determination. the Bank, particularly in the HR Department and all magazine wishing its sections including recruitment, I gained extensive First of all, we welcome you to this interview and would In March 2010, I obtained the post of Training and them all the best. experience and skills in various fields including job like you to say something about your C.V. Development Officer at OETC, which was a turning point analysis, development of job description, recruitment in my career, giving me the opportunity to acquire new Marhaba and I thank you for having me for this interview. of the required job competencies, and sorting out of and various skills in the field of electricity. I was able to
20 OMAN ELECTRICITY TRANSMISSION COMPANY S.A.O.C. OMAN ELECTRICITY TRANSMISSION COMPANY S.A.O.C. 21 A View from Past and Present Memory
In the past, there were only two main power stations in Muscat, one in Ghubrah and the other in Riyam. Covering the areas of Muscat, Muttrah, Ruwi and part of Wilayat Seeb. The network had a voltage of 33 kV in most of its parts with Ghubrah-Seeb line being the only assets operating at 132 kV. The areas of Nizwa, Sur, Jaalan bani Bu Hassan, Jaalan bani Bu Ali, Khasab and Salalah used to operate on diesel generators.
The electricity drive began to develop with the beginning Rules of Risk of the 80s to cover most areas in the Sultanate, but due to the increasingly growing consumption demand Management Policy the rate of supply disconnections continued to be on the rise in certain areas since the capacity of operating Hamdan Al Sukaiti: Risk management policy depicts the general stations was less than the increasing consumption demand, particularly at peak hours in summer. approach towards managing the risks facing the Company Electricity connection plans used to be developed Like any other organization managed on precise scientific and action plan to make our risk management activities by a specialized committee that was concerned with principles, OETC always puts into its consideration the commensurate with the level of risk we are facing. At planning, generation, transmission and distribution. The possibility of having errors and thus takes necessary steps the same time, such activities must be holistic, taking operation and maintenance of the generation stations Engineer Mohammed Mazroey to avoid them or mitigate their impact if they do occur. into account all risks. Risk Management also constitutes and networks (transmission, distribution and rural area The Company has the required cadres and capabilities an inseparable part of the decision-making process of stations) were managed by a single authority, i.e. the enabling it to manage risks on daily basis. the Company. We will use working frameworks for Direcorate General of Electricity. Hamdan Al Sukaiti, Manager of OETC’s Business Planning & organized risk management based on world standards, including the ISO 31000/2009 and further certifications. Risk Management Department, said: “We are increasingly However, at the present time and in accordance with required to provide guarantees that we will undertake risk He stressed the importance of implementing a joint the orders given by His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin management properly and persistently continue to do so approach for risk management in all fields of our activity Said, the electricity sector has since received special in the future. The risk management policy identifies the and training our employees on the most effective general approach towards risk management. This policy pattern of risk management, while seeking at the same attention with His Majesty ordering the setting up applies to all fields of activities within OETC and its diverse time to improve risk management practices and identify of an Authority to be concerned with regulating the units, supported with consistent working framework and necessary human and financial resources. The Business electricity sector in the Sultanate named the Authority appropriate measures and operations.” Planning & Risk Management Department supervises for Electricity Regulation Consequently, the Electricity Regarding the objectives of risk management policy, the risk management working framework and follows Holding Company was set up to undertake the role Hamdan Al Sukaiti said: There are certainly objectives up and maintains it through the Audit Committee. of supervision over the electricity sector’s companies that we seek to achieve in OETC, including the effective The Department undertakes the task of preparing and (generation, transmission and distribution). Electricity implementation of the policy in the course of tasks and reviewing risk reports, and provides necessary support in now covers all areas of the Sultanate, including the rural duties set forth in the Sector Law with due commitment the field of risk management to all departments. to the organizational matters. and remote areas. The Business Planning & Risk Management Departments About the policy statement, Al Sukaiti said: There are of the Company are responsible for ensuring compliance risk management policy rules represented by the use of with the risks policy and coordinating with the best practices in risk management in order to support stakeholders to ensure that the Company is compliant and consolidate the fields of the Company’s activities with the risk management policy.
22 OMAN ELECTRICITY TRANSMISSION COMPANY S.A.O.C. OMAN ELECTRICITY TRANSMISSION COMPANY S.A.O.C. 23 Lamps at Al Jabal Memory Meeting My Job Al Akhdar Memory By Coincidence
Electricity began to enter into people’s lives in the villages of Al Jabal Al Akhdar in the late 70s and early 80s with people beginning to purchase small 3 kVA generators for purposes In accordance with the orders of His Majesty Sultan of lighting and television only. Later on, refrigerators were Qaboos bin Said to provide electricity to all citizens, the added to the list. nature of my work required me to go to remote areas The generators used to be operated from after the Maghrib to connect electricity supplyand carry out workshop (sunset) prayers until 22:00 hours at night, after which maintenance. One day we went to Wilayat Al Taeein to gasoline operated cressets were lighted. We used to call Engineer Masoud Al Riyami connect electrical power and the citizens were so happy these cressets “hal al turab” in colloquial jargon. Most of the with our arrival and treated us with affection and respect houses in the village of “Al Shareeja” where I lived were built and even gave us helping hands when we needed that. I still remember those funny moments when the operator of stones and clay with local woods used for their ceilings. Engineer Mohammed Al Naamani Citizens were then unaware of the need to rationalize had to repeat operating the generator several times due This type of building tends to maintain suitable temperature to continuing circuit breaking which forced him to repeat electrical consumption but they were patient enough to inside the house. In summer the clay provides the structure the process all over again and again due to his insufficient tolerate any network disconnection. with good thermal mass which is very good at keeping The beginning of my career was in 1992 as assistant experience and lack of knowledge. At last, the operator temperatures at a constant level. Homes built with earth maintenance engineer at the Directorate General of Water The little number of stations in the past had its impact came out with a hell of an idea when he brought a piece tend to be naturally cool in the summer heat and warm on the engineers who were comfortable in ensuring of wood and put it underneath circuit breaker so that where my duties included supervising some power stations in cold weather. Clay holds heat or cold, releasing it over safety and providing better services to the citizens. The it does not break the circuit. The result was both the in the Governorate of Muscat. In one of the weekends a period of time like stone. The clay also absorbs carbon multinational employees at work had a positive impact generator and the circuit breaker exploded. Luckily, no I received a report on technical fault in Al Khoudh Main dioxide and smoke released by burning wood for purposes on creating a spirit of competition and teamwork. one was hurt. No one had heard about safety officers Water Pumping Station. As my colleague engineers were of warming thus giving children optimal warming conditions Although there were no chances for overseas training during those days. off, I had to go to the station alone to rectify the problem. during sleep in their semi-closed rooms known as “Al Safah”. I first analyzed the problem and attempted to identify then, there was a special department concerned with Today, Al Jabal Al Akhdar like other areas of the Sultanate training engineers to obtain better experiences in the field There being no public electricity at that time, wiring the cause and what action I should take to remedy the has become so developed and prosperous with the of their work. installation inside the houses needed no specific standards situation. During my work, some electricity officials visited electricity officially introduced into the area in 1995 or testing. What was important was that such wiring should me and asked me about cause of the problem and how I However, the situation is now drastically different with following the setting up of 33 KV line spanning 50 km from be connected to a circuit breaker only. Distribution boxes would resolve it. I told them about the causes of the fault a 2x3 MVA substation fed from Izki main station of the the setting up of many electrical power plants in various were rarely found. and that the problem would be solved in a short period of OETC. The rhyme of development and prosperity began areas of the Sultanate in order to cover the increasing time. Then one of them asked me about my job position. I Every group of citizens used to share buying a generator to further expedite with electricity playing an important demand for electricity whether by citizens or investment with them competing as to who owns the bigger and newer role in building in various fields. The citizens and residents told him that I was assistant maintenance engineer. “But, projects. you are working on an electrical problem,” he said. I told generator. Being children at that time, we were very keen are now living in full comfort without suffering from the It is noteworthy that the restructuring of the electricity on operating the generator in order to view the television. weather conditions in winter. Al Jabal Al Akhdar has also him not to worry as I am aware and have experience in electrical works too. He asked me to visit him in his office sector had the greatest role in providing better service to We used to go to watch the generator being operated by become a tourist destination on Oman’s tourist map the citizens by keeping abreast of the latest technological a handle with the operator suffering too much in operating the next day to look into the possibility of transferring me with so many luxury hotels, rest-houses and restaurants. developments. Citizens have become more aware of the the generator due to cold weather. With water we live and with electricity we progress. to another job suitable to my experience in electricity. I visited his office the next morning to find that he issued technological advancement taking place around them a decision transferring me to the Directorate of Electricity which had significant bearing on encouragement of for work as electrical engineer. However, I was appointed companies to provide better services with excellent quality. there in the stores section where I worked for three years The setting up of the Load Dispatch Center (LDC) had during which I gained experience in all types of electrical great importance for the electricity sector in so far as the materials and their storage and issue for use. cost-effective operation and monitoring of the network I was then posted to the protection section and worked are concerned and in case of any disconnections. there as assistant protection engineer. In that capacity, As a major development, the electricity distribution I undertook the duty of operation, protection and companies are now working towards providing the maintenance of networks which covered most of the “smart meter” system which depends on digital readings Sultanate’s areas except the Governorate of Dhofar due aimed at reducing errors resulting from regular readings. to non-existing electrical interconnection with Dhofar at The system will be directly connected to the main that time. network to serve the subscribers.
24 OMAN ELECTRICITY TRANSMISSION COMPANY S.A.O.C. OMAN ELECTRICITY TRANSMISSION COMPANY S.A.O.C. 25 Knowledge Sharing Conference 2014 Unveils the Sultanate’s Future Expectations for Electricity Sector
Engineer Ali bin Said Al Hadabi, OETC’s CEO, stated that the Knowledge Sharing Conference 2014 represented an important platform to identify the Sultanate’s requirements for electrical power and would assist Oman in putting in place the strategies that would contribute to achieving electricity transmission expectations. “There is no doubt that a conference of this size is considered an essential pillar for coordination of efforts within the Sultanate’s power sector and provides an opportunity for communication with the views brought forward in this respect,” he said. Addressing the Knowledge Sharing Conference 2014 held at Bar Al Jissa Resort on 2 November 2014, Engineer Omar bin Khalfan Al Wahaibi, CEO of Electricity Holding Group (Nama), revealed that electricity consumption increased in 2013 by 8% with number of subscribers increasing by 9%. He said that the Group had invested OMR 284 million in setting up and boosting electricity transmission and distribution. He pointed out that the losses in the electricity The conference was organized with the aim of networks were reduced from 14.2% in 2012 to 12.7% in 2013. The initial reports indicate that there was an increase supporting Electricity Holding Group in its compliance in electricity consumption during the first eight months of the current year at 11% and an increase in the number of to achieve world-class standards with regard to quality subscribers by 8% compared to the same period last year, with the investment expenditure amounting to OMR 194 and improvement of customer services and consolidation million. and communication with the local and global markets. The conference was attended by more than 300 employees of the Held under the auspices of His Excellency Yahya bin Said Al Jabri, Chairman of Duqm Special Economic Zone Authority Electricity Holding Group and a number of professionals from the (SEZAD), the conference featured the launching of the brand in a new and distinguished manner presented by the concerned parties within the services sector as well as international White Shadow Team. The opening ceremony also included thanking the official sponsors, speakers and strategic and local lecturers. partners. The conference was also accompanied by an exhibition with the participation of the companies concerned with the electricity and water sectors. The opening ceremony was attended by H.E. Mohammed bin Abdallah Al Mahrooqi, CEO of Electricity and Water Public Authority and Board Chairman of Electricity Holding Company; and H.E. Sheikh Dr. Abdul Malik bin Abdallah Al Hanai, Advisor at the Ministry of Finance and Deputy Board During the three-day conference, the conferees a historical overview on the impact of the electricity Chairman of Electricity Holding Company; and a number of board chairmen discussed several working papers in the field of human sector on environment and its role in sustainability and members and CEOs of the Group Companies. resources, customer service, asset management, policy to develop the environmental aspect presented health and safety, communication, and sustainability, by Abdallah Al Sawafi. Yusra Al Maskariyah reviewed in addition to the best strategic practices of the Group the experience of “Hawaa Mazoon” in the frameworks in customer services. of sustainability process adopted by the electricity sector. The first session discussed several aspects of developing human resources, including revision of the With regard to the Asset Management Strategy, Saleh performance management system and business model Al Talei presented a working paper on purchasing and at Mohammed Al Barwani Company, and human financing while Khamis Al Farsi reviewed the experience resources presented by Mohammed Al Kharusi. Then of purchasing and financing in Wadi Al Jizi Energy Steward Wigley presented the HR experience in Towers Company. Ahmed Al Rahbi explained the operations of Watson Company. The session also included a working new project process gates to justify and deliver projects paper on neglected retention strategy and awareness within the Company. Mahmood Jallad presented program reviewed by Sawsan Al Shuhriah. Faruq several axes relating to developing and improving Ahmed Shakir presented a paper on continuation of quality of customer services and implementation works and its relationship with the human resources. mechanisms to ensure customer satisfaction. The second session was about sustainability and The conference concluded with a number of communication strategy with several papers presented recommendations in support of the strategies of the on this matter, including local added value presented Electricity Holding Group and how to implement them by Amer Al Sinani of the Ministry of Oil and Gas, and for enhanced performance quality.
26 OMAN ELECTRICITY TRANSMISSION COMPANY S.A.O.C. OMAN ELECTRICITY TRANSMISSION COMPANY S.A.O.C. 27 Presenting two research papers on requirements of electricity transmission network security in the Sultanate of Oman and the challenges to it, an OETC delegation participates in Gulf Cigre Conference and Exhibition in Bahrain. OETC at Gulf Cigre Conference
The OETC took part in GCC Cigre’s Leading Electric Power network security in the Sultanate to keep abreast of Participating Conference & Exhibition held in the Bahraini Capital, the link to the new generation stations, and to cope Manama, during the period 10-12 November 2014. with the increasing demand for power and increased in Dossier The delegation consisted of engineer Thani Al Khusaibi, power consumption. Company advisor for Transmission and Planning; Dr. The updated criteria were agreed by the Electricity Adil Al Busaidi, Manager of Asset Management and Regulatory Authority. Transmission network was also Conference Planning Department, Engineer Hisham Al Riaymi, designed to connect 2000 Sur Power Generation Strategic Planning and Station and build 400 KV Studies Section; and transmission lines. Eng. Ali Al Hadabi reviews roadmap Engineer Musabbah for future development of the Al Siyahbi, Assistant Engineer Ali bin Said Al Sultanate’s electricity sector Planning Engineer. Hadabi, OETC CEO, stated that the Company Dr. Adil Al Busaidi encourages its engineers presented a working and all employees to paper that dealt with a effectively take part study entitled “Long- in such conferences. term future study and They are very important strategy of developing in providing the transmission network in participants with the the Sultanate of Oman latest developments 2014-2030.” He tackled and the updated technical information having direct the most important current challenges facing planning bearing on uplifting of efficiency of the Company’s of electricity transmission network and the appropriate engineers. They also impart knowledge of the latest In the context of participation of OETC in Dossier field of electrical contracting and manufacturing from solutions to them in the long run, also reviewing the technologies, devices and capabilities in the field, and findings of the study. Engineer Hisham Al Riyami Conference at Intercontinental Hotel as Silver Oman and overseas,” said Al Hadabi. ways to take advantage of such knowledge for further delivered a working paper that focused on updating Sponsor, Engineer Ali bin Said Al Hadabi, OETC’s promotion of electricity transmission network in the the criteria and requirements of electricity transmission CEO, reviewed the roadmap for future development He further pointed out that more than 90% of the Sultanate of Oman. of the Sultanate’s electricity sector. employees in this sector are Omanis which is a great The conference program included main axes achievement. Commenting on the projects aimed on medium-term and long-term strategies for “The developmental plans are designed to meet the at increasing electrical production in the Sultanate, development of electricity sectors in GCC countries, increasing demand for power and ensure continuing Engineer Al Hadabi pointed out that there were many improvement of management and control systems of flow of electrical power in all areas of the Sultanate. projects expected to be carried out in various parts of power grids, use of smart systems, enhancement of The plans will also ensure provision of countless the Sultanate. remotely controlled network automatic applications, opportunities for various companies operating in the and consolidation of electrical link among the GCC countries, as well as the quest for practical solutions to alternative and renewable energy sources. The conferees also discussed research papers concerned with the problems facing operation of power networks and appropriate solutions to them as well as the requirements and criteria of connecting generation stations to electricity transmission networks. Research papers were also presented on asset management and preservation.
28 OMAN ELECTRICITY TRANSMISSION COMPANY S.A.O.C. OMAN ELECTRICITY TRANSMISSION COMPANY S.A.O.C. 29 The Issue
We have saved nearly RO. 1m due Near Miss to overhead line Prepared by Asif Ali, HSE Manager
Thanks to Allah we were able to save for OETC nearly RO. 1 million. You may be astonished about this figure As an approach to our article we should first of all and how we could save a lot of money by applying very know what is meant by “Near Miss”. A “Near miss” simple practices and ideas and how we address the challenges that we faced in our projects. Let me then tell is an unplanned event that may result in unforeseen incidents. you, in the following lines, how this was possible. Eng. Khalid bin Waleed Younus In Dhofar Governorate, a project was going on for the After site visits, a new alignment of the line was agreed Certainly, there are facts with “near miss” which we construction of a 132 kV overhead line for transmission away from the tourist facilities and populated and bushy of electricity from Ashoor Main Station to Shah Aaoon should be careful about in our working life as well as our areas which are natural sanctuaries. Then, the ground was daily life, namely the following: Main Station spanning 60 km and passing through rough surveyed and mapping was carried out. terrain as well as some tourist and populated areas. These specific conditions constituted one of the challenges that The first service organization which we had to obtain • The most important problem with near misses is that we have faced in the implementation process. approval from was the Directorate General of Transport employees often do not know they happened, which makes and Communications. They did not agree at the it very difficult to fix them or prevent future ones. Similarly, one Rukn Al Yaqeen International was the contractor carrying beginning. We, therefore, had to confirm to them that our out the project while Mott McDonald was the project’s Company had carried out overhead electricity transmission employee may report a near miss to a supervisor, but the rest of consultant. Previously, the project was under the lines in several areas of the Sultanate, crossing various the staff will not be made aware of the situation so that they can responsibility of a contracting company which failed to main roads without the need for underground cabling be aware of such possible accidents. complete for administrative and financial reasons, and that and that this particular line would be carried out to the is why the project was withdrawn from it and awarded to required specifications with regard to the minimum height Rukn Al Yaqeen through the normal tendering process. • Many employees are used to simplifying things. They tend to required for wires above the road to avoid any danger to comment on what has happened using different words and then A main feature of the electricity transmission line was the road users. It was only after this confirmation that we got they just move on to their next task. That is - they go back to Salalah-Thumrait Main Road. At the preliminary design the required approval. stage by the former contractor, the 132 KV electricity work without mentioning the incident to their supervisor, as if the We faced a minor challenge featured by the need to set transmission line was supposed to cross the main road incident was a one-time occurrence and not worth mentioning up one pylon inside a land designated for the Directorate through underground cables. Surveying was carried out, General of Environment and Climatic Affairs. We have or reporting. ground level data were derived and the cable alignment made arrangements for all their essential needs since we and locations of pylons were selected on the sides of knew in advance what they required. We have avoided • Employees sometimes decide if nobody gets hurt and there Salalah-Thumrait Main Road. However, the former is no damage, then it’s not really an incident, but this is a contractor failed to complete the project. the areas of dense trees in our selection of the alignment. However, with their cooperation and understanding of part of the problem we are facing in this respect. We then began to work with Rukn Al Yaqeen International the importance of the project we could carry out the pylon LLC and when we arrived at the execution stage near while protecting the remaining area against damages • We should realize that the same incident that caused Salalah-Thumrait Main Road, we found it difficult to cross during execution. the road using underground cables due to tough terrain no injury today may take someone’s life tomorrow. and highly elevated undulations of ground surface making We have obtained approvals from all concerned government it very difficult to dig a trench for cabling in addition to the service organizations without much difficulty. In the end, The question is, how can we remove the causes? high cost of that. Also, the height of the road 15 m above we obtained the final approval of Dhofar Municipality represented by the Technical Services Department, after ground level on both sides made it extremely difficult to If we fail to remove the cause of the no-injury having made some modifications to the alignment in carry out excavation since there were also some tourist incident, then we will fail to remove the facilities in the areas. What was the solution then? avoidance of future objections from any party. cause of the incident that does result in By turning part of the line required to be carried out We have taken all these factors into consideration and INJURY. Hence, taking required action (crossing Salalah-Thumrait Main Road) from underground the working team consisting of the project manager of and removing the causes from a near OETC, project manager of Mott McDonald and project cable into overhead lines, we managed to reduce the manager of Rukun Al Yaqeen International. After lengthy total cost by about RO. 0.9 million. In addition to the miss are required prevent future discussions, a decision was taken to design an alternative big difference between the cost of laying ground cables Incidents. proposal for the electricity transmission line to cross the and the cost of setting up an overhead line for the same Salalah-Thumrait Main Road. It was agreed that such a distance and capacity, we could also reduce the total time design should be for an overhead line. required to carry out the whole project.
30 OMAN ELECTRICITY TRANSMISSION COMPANY S.A.O.C. OMAN ELECTRICITY TRANSMISSION COMPANY S.A.O.C. 31 The first achievement of its kind within the scope of cooperation with communications companies, OETC provides 4G broadband communication means for a Bausher village. OETC Lends Critical Support to Omantel
In a new experience and in cooperation with the telecommunications companies in order to deliver Oman Broadband Company OBC and Oman the Government led initiative to provide broadband Telecommunications Company (Omantel), Oman services to the remote areas that are difficult to access. Electricity Transmission Company (OETC) has carried The Company is a member of the team concerned with out a prove of concept project whereby it provided a studying the mechanisms of extending broadband to broadband facility that enabled Omantel to upgrade various areas of the Sultanate using the infrastructure its mobile transmission services station at the village available in the networks of the public services of Hamam, Al Ansab, Wilayat Bausher. As a result, the sectors such as the electricity and water companies, mobile service was upgraded from 3G to 4G by utilizing wastewater companies and oil and gas companies. a link from fiber optic network of OETC. The project is an initial step towards adopting the concept at a wider scope with a view to developing This pilot project is the first of its kind to be carried out communications and expanding broadband services by the Company in the context of cooperation with in various areas of the Sultanate.
Prepare by Eng. Mahmood Said Abdullah Al Ismaili Deputy Senior Manager, LDC
32 OMAN ELECTRICITY TRANSMISSION COMPANY S.A.O.C. OMAN ELECTRICITY TRANSMISSION COMPANY S.A.O.C. 33 As part of business package in support of transmission grid, Six Agreements Worth More Than OETC Conducted RO. 87 Million Signed OETC Conducted a Number of Workshops
Oman Electricity Transmission Company (OETC) has Wilayat Ibri at a cost of RO. 10,315,000 carried out by signed six agreements amounting to a total cost of RO. Anabensa in conjunction with Al Sarooj Group. 87,881,838 intended to set up new stations, expand The sixth tender was for Consultancy Services for a number of existing stations, establish overhead Design & Supervision of 400kV Grid Station at Sohar, transmission lines and boost transmission networks Sohar Free Zone and Sohar Industrial Estate and for a number of Wilayats of the Sultanate in addition to 400 kV line connection between Sohar Free Zone consultancy services agreement for design of new stations. to Mahdha and between Sohar and Sohar Industrial The first tender was for Construction of New Estate stations at a cost of RO. 1,128,300. 220/132/33kV grid station at Sohar Free Zone awarded These projects will contribute to strengthening the to Galfar Engineering and Construction Company with efficiency and reliability of the main network in Oman Electricity Transmission Company (OETC) has environment so that all employees can enjoy a risk-free a cost of RO 18,458,587. the Sultanate by reducing demand in existing Grid held a number of workshops, symposiums and training working place. courses during the year, in line with the initiatives The second tender was for construction of 400 kV Stations. Also, the new projects shall ease the demand The Human Resources Department held successful of the sector’s companies. The workshops dealt Overhead Transmission Line between Izki and Misfah constraints caused by developments and population sessions targeting a large number of managers grid stations awarded to Gulf Jyoti International and growth in the regions covered by these Grid Stations. with five strategies, namely human resources, asset and section heads with a view to enabling them to Jyoti Constructions at a cost of RO. 18,848,089. These tenders are within Oman Electricity Transmission management, HSE, communications and customer obtain basic professional certificate in the application Company’s agenda to increase the number of Grid services, and also covered risk management. The third tender was for Upgrading Misfah Grid Station of corporate performance management using key Stations and expand the electricity transmission to 400kV and the work will be carried out by Larsen & Most importantly, a workshop was held entitled network in various wilayats all over the Sultanate. performance indicators (KPIs). Toubro (Oman) at a cost of RO.21.607m. “Change Management in Asset Management In this context, Ali bin Said Al Hadabi CEO of the Concept” which focused on awareness of managers The company began to implement this important The fourth tender was for reinforcing the current Company, said, “We are proud to be part of the and section heads within various departments on the system long time ago at the level of KPIs within the network in Muscat by 132KV links between Al Falaj, overall development plans in the country in the importance of change management, which aimed Company. With effect from 2015, the performance Muttrah and Wadi Kabir Grid Stations at a cost of about implementation of many vital projects which will to instill the principles of asset management into all management system will be further implemented as RO. 17,524,862 and will be carried out by Bahwan meet all the required needs of transmitting electricity employees in various administrative and technical part of the ITMF project across the sector, to include Engineering Company. to all parts of the Sultanate. We pledge to deliver our fields. Another workshop was held in the field of annual evaluation of personnel. As an initial step, it will The fifth tender concerns construction of Al Dareez 132 services in electricity power transmission both safely health, safety and environment focusing on change of include the employees in some job grades before it is kV grid station and its associated transmission lines at and economically.” undesirable behaviors and practices within the working generalized to include all employees in the next year.
34 OMAN ELECTRICITY TRANSMISSION COMPANY S.A.O.C. OMAN ELECTRICITY TRANSMISSION COMPANY S.A.O.C. 35 Comprehensive Asset Management “Accounting for Non-accountants” Workshop Training Program OETC represented by the Finance Department has interpretation of data derived from financial with participation of 200 employees conducted a workshop entitled “Accounting for Non- statements, ability to derive results and read balance accountants” that aimed to familiarize the participants sheet, the relationship between financial votes and with recognized accounting concepts and principles, the cash flows, the elements affecting cash flows, and ability to change figures and read and interpret financial relationship between cash flow and liquidity. The OETC has recently finished a comprehensive training therefore, special sessions were held with the senior statements and results, planning budgets and costing workshop further tackled principles of costing and its program on asset management to over 200 staff. managers on how to manage and implement the and principles of calculating and rationalizing costs for relationship with pricing and profiting, analysis and Training was given on asset management principles required change. Another special session was also non-accountants. The course involves engineers and interpretation of costing lists and the standard costs, to engineers, managers and support staff to held for the new board members, who also stressed managers who completed specialized studies in non- and their role in financial control. increase awareness of asset management across the the importance of this initiative and promised their organization. The primary course covered the basics accounting or who are conversant with accounting and full support so that it can continue to be further The workshop concluded with a number of of asset management, why OETC was improving its are using financial information in decision-making and implemented. recommendations including the emphasis on the capabilities, and the plan to achieve PAS-55 certification. providing reports to the higher management. need to hold such workshops on an annual basis Our asset management consultants, QASR, undertook Further training and awareness sessions and The workshop dealt with several aspects including tasks or biannually to raise the financial awareness of the training, supported by Asset Management with the communications will be organized by the Asset and objectives of Finance Department, applicable laws departments, and propagate financial concepts for logistics managed by Human Resources. Management Department as we lead up to PAS-55 and regulations, and the department’s organizational the benefit of all as a basic objective for exchange certification due in 2016. More advanced training was offered to the engineers structure. It also dealt with the basic concepts and of information and knowledge among various and senior managers on the detailed technical areas of The courses were very interactive and enjoyable, with meanings of accounting terminology and expressions, departments. asset management. These were supported by practical a number of exercises that demonstrated the key examples of how the new methods are starting to be concepts of asset management in everyday activity. used with OETC. The courses finished with a short quiz aimed at testing We know that asset management will change the the participants’ understanding and adding some more organization, and how we undertake our work, and fun to the thought-provoking sessions.
36 OMAN ELECTRICITY TRANSMISSION COMPANY S.A.O.C. OMAN ELECTRICITY TRANSMISSION COMPANY S.A.O.C. 37 Mohammed and Waleed Championship (You are into our hearts)
Sports Activities on Bausher Sands
In the context of its continuing Load Dispatch activities and programs for 2014, the Sports Committee organized a Center Crowned sporting activity entitled “Bausher sands embrace OETC’s employees”. Champion in The event included a series of sports and recreational programs including Internal Football mountain climbing and motorcycling. At the end of the program, the Championship Company’s employees had a get together as one family entertaining some cultural and educational activities. A plan has been put in place for management of this recreational activity on a regular basis in order to A sports social initiative maintain the health and welfare of the The Load Dispatch Center (LDC) was crowned Company’s employees. champion of the two-week International Football Championship held at the sports ground of the Public Authority for Electricity and Water, Bausher. Held in memory of Mohammed and Waleed, the Championship witnessed high turnout and interest on the part of the Company’s senior management. The team of Load Dispatch Center was crowned Champion of the Championship after beating the Projects Department’s team, with the Transport Department’s team taking the third position. At the end of the match, prizes were presented to the first position winners, best goalkeeper, best player, and best goal scorer. Harith Al Amri won the title of best goalkeeper, Ahmed Al Omairi got the title of best player and Naseeb Sulaiman Al Salmi was chosen as the scorer of the championship. The Company’s management commended the efforts of the organizers of the Championship and participating players.
38 OMAN ELECTRICITY TRANSMISSION COMPANY S.A.O.C. OMAN ELECTRICITY TRANSMISSION COMPANY S.A.O.C. 39 Development of Transmission System INTRODUCTION The Main Interconnected Transmission System (MITS) is studied considering the long-term vision for the in the North of Oman is owned and operated by network development. The best structure is selected Master Plan of Oman (2014-2030) Oman Electricity Transmission Company (OETC) on the basis of techno-economic analysis to satisfy the [1]. Starting from 2014, the transmission system of transmission security criteria [7] at least-cost. Having Hisham Al-Riyami, Adil Al-Busaidi, Ahmed Al-Nadabi, Musabah Al-Siyabi and Zahra Al-Rawahi Dhofar region in the south on Oman is also owned defined the 2030 target structure, the TMP team Strategic Planning & Studies Section and operated by OETC. The two systems are considered phasing the development of the network Asset Management & Planning Department interconnected through the network of Petroleum and required investments amongst selected three Development of Oman (PDO) [2] which extended in intermediate years namrly; 2018, 2020 and 2025. SUMMARY the middle region between North and South areas. Other related issues are also investigated including OETC is responsible for the planning of the transmission mitigation of high short-circuit levels in some The objective of this paper is to present the methodology, plan by first building a transmission network target network. Up to 2014, OETC based its planning places, dynamic security analysis and benifies of challenges and results of the transmission master plan structure (at 2030) that defines the long term vision of activities on Five-Year Annual Capability Statement optimal power-flow applications. Finally, estimation of Oman 2014-2030. The main challenges affecting the transmission, generation and distribution companies [3]. This approach is common and allows justifying of the required investments over the TMP period is planning of transmission investments are: and that tackles all technical issues. The combination investments at medium terms. OETC analyzed that presented. 1. Fast growing demand (currently reaches about 10%), of probabilistic and deterministic models is used to due to fast growing demand, high level of uncertainty 2. High level of uncertainty due to unbundling propose the optimal structure. A new 400kV backbone due to unbundling and specific problematic of SCC Section 2 describes the configuration of the existing (generation, transmission and distribution), structure is developed. Then intermediate years’ [4], a strategic long-term vision for the development MITS in 2014. Section 3 presents the methodology structures (2018, 2020, and 2025) are built by phasing 3. Peculiarity of the demand (high variation summer/ of the transmission network is required. This long- of the development of the master plan. Section 4 investment identified for the target structure. winter, high participation of air-conditioning to peak term vision has on one hand to give a clear road map deals with the load forecast. Section 5 presents the generation expansion plan. Section 6 presents the demand), Detailed static and dynamic analyses are used. Focus for investments in the transmission network andt target structure of the transmission system in 2030. 4. Limitation of place for extension of existing is given to limitation of SCC level, optimal location for also to reduce uncertainties and level of risk due to Section 7 concerns with the adopted pocket operation substations, compensation means and required investment in SVCs. unbundling on the other hand of some parts on the 132kV network in Muscat to 5. High concentration of demand creating high Short- The results of the transmission master plan are then Tractebel Engineering (TE) [5] and OETC [1] have overcome the short-circuit issue. Section 8 presents Circuit Current (SCC) levels, and illustrated focusing on impact of generation location, developed a planning methodology to optimize dynamic security analysis and Section 9 presents 6. Relatively strict planning criteria. ways to limit SCC levels, benefits of optimal power- transmission investments in such an environment. The the benefits of applying the optimal power low (law flow for planning and operation of the system, impact Transmission Master Plan (TMP) [6] is based on several ????) to planning and operation of the MITS. Section Tractebel Engineering and Oman Electricity Transmission of planning criteria, etc. preliminary studies including definition of planning 10 lists the distribution of the master Plan investment Company (OETC) have developed a methodology criteria, demand forecast and required generation costs, and finally Section 11 summarizes the main to optimize transmission investments in such an Keywords: Transmission System, Long-Term Planning, expansion plan. Then the 2030 MITS target structure conclusions. environment. It proposes the least cost development Master Plan.
40 OMAN ELECTRICITY TRANSMISSION COMPANY S.A.O.C. OMAN ELECTRICITY TRANSMISSION COMPANY S.A.O.C. 41 EXISTING TRANSMISSION SYSTEM • 320 MVA of 220/33 kV transformer capacity DESCRIPTION • 11734 MVA of 132/33 kV transformer capacity The transmission The existing transmission system [1] in northern Oman • 150 MVA of 132/11 kV transformer capacity system is supplied with electricity has two operating voltages, i.e. 220kV and 132kV. In • Six 220kV interconnection grid stations generated from ten gas-based power stations located of 2015, the transmission system in northern Oman will also at Ghubrah, Rusail, Wadi Jizzi, Manah, Al Kamil, Barka the study to decrease have 400kV operating voltage. The existing transmission • Two 220/132kV grid stations (ACWA), Barka SMN, Barka III, Sohar I and Sohar II [9]. In level of uncertainty and have a coherent vision system extends across the whole of northern Oman and • One 220/33 kV grid station addition, the transmission system may be supplied from for the demand and generation over the study period. interconnects bulk consumers and generators of electricity direct customers, such as Sohar Aluminium, PDO, and • Nine 220/132/33 kV grid stations located in the Governorates of Muscat, Batinah South, OMCO. The Sur power plant has fully commissioned The first stage of the TMP is the construction of the 2030 Batinah North, Dhahirah, Buraimi, Dakhliyah and • Forty one 132/33 kV grid stations with 2000 MW in 2015. Target Structure, which aims at reflecting the long term Sharquiya South, Sharqiya North. Since January 2014, vision for the network development. Different solutions • One 132/11 kV grid station OETC has operated the transmission system at Dhofar Four Distribution Licence holders, i.e. Muscat Electricity are investigated to reinforce the network and meet the Distribution Company (MEDC), Mazoon Electricity Governorate. The transmission system is interconnected with transmission security criteria. The selection of the best Company (MZEC), Majan Electricity Company (MJEC) the transmission system of UAE (Abu Dhabi option is made on techno-economic analysis, i.e. the The present MITS consists of [3]: and Dhofar Power Company (DPC) take the bulk of Transco) at Mahdah (Al Wasit) grid station through solution that permits to meet security criteria at least- the power transmitted through the main grid, from the • 1719.07 circuit-km of 220kV overhead 220kV, which will be upgraded to 400kV by 2017 cost is selected. 220/132/33 kV, 220/33 kV, 132/33 kV and 132/11 kV transmission lines through a new 400kV double-circuit transmission grid stations. The second stage of the TMP deals with the phasing of line [8]. The new interconnection will form a part • 3138.06 circuit-km of 132kV overhead the investments amongst the three intermediate years of the GCC Grid that links the electricity supply transmission lines In addition to the four distribution companies, ten selected for this Master Plan (2018, 2020 and 2025). systems of Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, large private customers are directly connected to the The objective is to define for each intermediate year a UAE and Oman. This should provide increased • 61.6 circuit-km of 220kV underground transmission system at the 220kV and 132kV levels. transmission system accommodating the generation security of supply and benefits to the member cables expansion, supplying the load demand and meeting the countries in the form of cost savings from the In 2013, the system gross peak demand was 4634 MW security criteria. The reinforcements proposed to solve • 110.658 circuit-km of 132kV sharing of reserve capacity and energy resources. which occurred at 15:00 hours on 16th June. During the identified limitations of the network and respect the underground cables The 220kV interconnector between OETC and 2013, the Electric Energy Delivered to the MITS system security criteria are selected from the Target Structure’s Abu Dhabi Transco been energised and brought from connected generating plants & other generators • 10630 MVA of 220/132kV portfolio of reinforcements, in order to be in line with into service since the 14th of November 2011. The was 22,702.497 GWh whilst that exported from the transformer capacity OETC transmission system is also interconnected MITS to the distribution companies was 22,110.651 with the Sohar Aluminium system at 220kV GWh resulting in transmission system energy losses of Security Load demand Generation via a double circuit cable that runs between 591.846 GWh, which equates to a transmission system Critieria forecast Expansion Plan Sohar Power Station (SPS) on the OETC system energy loss of 2.68 %. and Sohar Aluminium 220kV busbar. Under 2030 Target normal conditions the power transfer across the METHODOLOGY Transmission interconnection is forecasted to be negligible, but Structure in the event of an emergency on either network The Transmission Master Plan (TMP) is based on several the interconnection can facilitate a power transfer preliminies studies: definition of planning criteria, load of up to 300 MW to address the shortfall. demand forecast and generation expansion plan, as List of shown in Figure 1. Those preliminary studies are required investments by 2030 The OETC transmission system is also to pave the way of the TMP. Planning criteria setting has interconnected with the PDO transmission to be achieved according to regulation. Grid code [10] network at 132kV via a single circuit overhead line and Transmission Security Standards (TSSS) [7] are used to Phasing that runs between Nizwa on the OETC system define the criteria. While the definition of planning criteria of investments and Nahda on the PDO system [2]. Under is a task developed by OETC in line with regulations, the normal conditions, the power transfer across the load demand forecast and the generation expansion interconnection is forecasted to be negligible, but plan require in-depth consultations with national Transmission in the event of an emergency on either network stakeholders and in particular the main utilities (OPWP) Master Plan Results the interconnection can facilitate a power transfer [9] , DISCOs (MZEC, MJEC, MEDC), and RAEC. OETC of up to 60 MW to address the shortfall. decided to involve all stakeholders from the beginning Figure 1: Flowchart of the TMP tasks.
42 OMAN ELECTRICITY TRANSMISSION COMPANY S.A.O.C. OMAN ELECTRICITY TRANSMISSION COMPANY S.A.O.C. 43 The main planning criterion is the Loss of Load The addition of renewable capacity allows substituting Expectation (LOLE) and it was aligned on GCCIA classic thermal capacity Hhowever the ratio is not 1 for requirement: LOLE of 24 h if OETC network is isolated 1 due to intermittency of the renewable energy. For from GCC network and 5 h if OETC network is a constant LOLE, the addition of 3 GW of renewable interconnected. Results have shown that generation capacity allows substituting 800 MW of CCGT. capacity planned by OPWP covers adequately the demand up to 2025 and that some additional capacity 2030 TARGET STRUCTURE may be required after 2025 if high scenario of demand forecast realizes. As mentioned before, the first stage of the TMP is the construction of the 2030 target structure. The Also the capacity adequacy study analyzed the impact combination of probabilistic and deterministic models Base scenario of the renewable energy on the generation expansion is used to propose the optimal structure.
High scenario and Minimum demand [MW] Global Peak plan. A scenario of development of renewable was The probabilistic approach is first used. It is performed Low scenario considered with a target of 15% of renewable capacity by 2030. This capacity is distributed among CSP, PV by using the SCANNER tool [5]. The model uses the and wind and reaches a total of 3 GW by 2030 as Monte Carlo method that enables to analyze a very large shown in Figure 4. number of operational situations selected randomly
Figure 2: Global peak load demand forecast.
2030 the long-term development scheme defined by the 2030 of demand side management program. Figure 2 Peak load Target Structure. shows the global peak load demand forecast. The demand [MW] High scenario will bring demand of Oman from 4.5 0-353 353-707 LOAD DEMAND FORECAST GW in 2013 to 19 GW by 2030. In 2030 the demands 707-1061 of Dhofar system (1.7 GW) and Duqm (1 GW) are 1061-1415 The load forecast for Oman is performed using two 1415-1769 considered as they will be interconnected with the 1769-2123 complementary approaches: MITS. It leads to an average growth of 9% with a 2123-2477 growth equal or superior to 10% till 2020 and that The global method permits to determine the future decreases and stabilizes to 7% after 2020. evolution of the load demand, based on the historical data and the existing correlation between the load demand OETC and TE also carried-out a forecast per Wilayat and macro-economic parameters of the Sultanate: GDP on basis of forecast of population, characteristic of and population. Wilayat (specific consumption) and industrial projects. The results are illustrated in Figure 3 for 2030. It can be The area based method uses the most precise seen that Wilayat of Muscat and Sohar will present the consumption data available and gives the geographical higher demand reaching consumption above 2 GW. distribution of the load demand, considering the relative development of each area in Oman and the specific large Figure 3: Distribution of Peak Demand load per area in 2030. projects expected to be connected to the transmission GENERATION EXPANSION PLAN system. The generation expansion plan is of utmoost throughout the whole year. The power system of structures of the transmission grid are built by adding With the combination of these two methods, the load importance for th Ttransmissio Mmaste Pplan. The OETC is simulated considering the existing and already new transmission or transformation infrastructure and/ collaboration between OPWP, OETC and TE during forecast is realized in terms of energy, peak demand foreseen investments for 2030. This method enables to or by changing the operation switching structure of the this phase was very important and lded to a common and minimum demand for the MITS, but also for the detect bottlenecks in the transmission system occurring network. areas within MITS and for areas that are expected to be understanding of the generation expansion plan for for various operational situations selected randomly connected to the MITS in the long term namely; Dhofar Oman up to 2030. throughout the whole year. These calculations also This phase of the study is achieved on peak and off enable to compute the total expected un-served and Duqm. OETC and TE took as input the generation expansion peak situation. For this deterministic phase, security energy of the system, not only due to the generation plan of OPWP but validated through a capacity analysis, SCC evaluation, dynamic assessments are Three scenarios are developed to take into account but also due to the transmission network. uncertainties of socio-economic parameters, plausible adequacy study that enough capacity is planned to performed to ensure that all proposed target structures delays of industrial projects and level of implementation supply the demand while respecting planning criteria. On basis of the bottlenecks identified, several target meet the planning criteria.
44 OMAN ELECTRICITY TRANSMISSION COMPANY S.A.O.C. OMAN ELECTRICITY TRANSMISSION COMPANY S.A.O.C. 45 Finally preferred target is selected on basis of cost of Figure 5. The reason is the impossibility to locate major The interconnection will also bring new opportunities or two 400/132kV or 220/132kV grid stations. Each investment and operational cost (mainly losses) generation units close to load centers. Four areas will such as the development of coastal investments pocket is connectable to neighbouring pocket to allow present excess above 1 GW: Shinas, Ibri, Mussanah between Duqm and Salalah or the interconnection maintenance of main grid stations. With this pocket 400kV Structure and Sur. Three areas will have deficit of capacity above of the OETC power system with the Petroleum arrangement, the SCC at all busbars are kept within the By 2030, the power system of Oman will present areas 1 GW: Sohar, Muscat East and West. Development Oman power system. GIS fault rating levels. with significant excess of generation capacity and As a direct consequence, flows above 1 GW are other areas with high deficit of capacity, as shown in expected between the different areas. The level of POCKET OPERATION DYNAMIC SECURITY ASSESSMENT
Th Ttransmissio Mmaste Pplan also focused at the Dynamic security assessment of the 2030 structure has probtic of short circuit levels. As many countries in the been conducted. The main conclusion was that almost Gulf area, Oman faces and will face very high level of all short circuit fault simulation tests on 132kV, 220kV short circuit currents. The inherent reason ing the high and 400kV transmission lines in Muscat area resulted concentration of demand in some areas of the country. to unacceptable voltage recovery. Figure 8 shows an example of a simulation short-circuit test. Although, the Several countermeasures have been proposed such as initial voltage at Muttrah and Hamriyah was about 1.04 connection of major power plant at 400kV, replacement pu before the fault, it falls transiently to about 0.55 pu of circuit breakers to higher capacity standards, use of during the fault and then settles at about 0.73 pu. current limiters in some substations. The reason for this unacceptable voltage recovery is the In Muscat area, those measures could not limit the large amount of induction motor load demand, mainly short circuit currents to acceptable values, Therefore, air-conditioners and the lack of voltage support in the OETC and TE opted to operate the 132kV network of 132kV network of Muscat that implicates low voltage Muscat in pockets. A total of ix6 pockets are proposed during the short circuit and possibility of motor stalling. by 2030. Figure 7 shows the configuration of pockets in Muscat area. Each 132kV-pocket supplies a load The Transmission Master Plan demonstrated that Figure 4: Renewable plants sites distribution. between 700 MW and 900 MW and is supplied by one capacitive shunt compensation does not solve
flows requires the construction of a 400kV network The southern ring, which is composed of OETC’s among the areas. planned 400kV structure for 2017, plus one new double circuit 400kV OHL closing the loop. This will result in a This network will rely on three main corridors as shown meshed 400kV network that will increase the reliability in Figure 6: of supply of Muscat area. + 2100MW Shinas & SPS area - 1250MW - 2300MW The coastal backbone, which is formed by a double Interconnection M-– Du-– Dhofar - 1900MW circuit 400kV OHL. This route will link the northern + 2500MW Sohar City area MIS-Mussanah area Muscat West area areas, going from Muscat East area up to Mahdah An 800 km, 400kV OHL is envisaged to interconnect Muscat East area area. It will pass by MIS-Mussanah, Sohar City and the main interconnected transmission system to Shinas & SPS areas. The main purpose of the coastal Duqm Area and Dhofar System. The objective of this backbone is to evacuate the power surplus of Shinas interconnection is first to improve reliability of supply Mahdah area & SPS and MIS-Mussanah areas to Muscat West and of Duqm that will be a major industrial site of Oman East areas, which are important load demand centres. and Dhofar that is the main city in the south of the - 200MW It also enables to connect OETC network to the GCCIA country. Second by pooling the three generation Ibri area Nizwa area Sur area planned 400kV grid station at Mahdah and paves the systems, operational and investment cost savings will way to a possible interconnection to Iran; be realised. As an illustration figure, between 300 MW Exporting > + 1000MW + 1200MW + 1950MW area - 750MW and 400 MW of installed capacity can be saved to keep < 1000MW The inner-land backbone, which is formed by a double the same LOLE level. Third, this interconnection will circuit 400kV OHL. This route will link the southern Importing 400kV 220kV 132kV allow increasing the level of penetration of renewable area > 1000MW Main Interconnected System - Active power balance (cap. - 1700MW) (cap. - 650MW) (cap. - 275MW) areas, going from Nizwa area up to Ibri area. Its main energy in Dhofar and Duqm areas. Those areas have goal is to evacuate the power surplus of Ibri area to high resources of renewable energy that cannot be Figure 5: Power balance in each area of the MITS in 2030. Nizwa area; fully exploited if the networks remain islanded.
46 OMAN ELECTRICITY TRANSMISSION COMPANY S.A.O.C. OMAN ELECTRICITY TRANSMISSION COMPANY S.A.O.C. 47 the voltage recovery problem, and thus recommended the installation of Static VAR Compensators (VC)s) at identified 132kV locations.
The installation of SVCs is a good alternative to generating units, as it does not increase the short-circuit current level. Nevertheless, the use of the SVCs should be dedicated to dynamic voltage support, i.e. they shouldn’t be used in healthy state in order to keep sufficient margins.
The location and size of the SVCs has been iteratively optimized in order to minimize the reactive requirements and respect the dynamic stability criteria. A total of 640 MVAr of SVC will Figure 7: Pocket operation in Muscat area. be required by 2030. Figure 6: The three main corridors of the 400kV structure.
OPTIMAL POWER FLOW related to the development of the 400kV All results presented in th Ttransmissio Mmaste network and are driven by the development of new major large power plants. Pplan are based on operating points defined by total generation of reactive power, the voltage profile is an OPF module. OETC and TE demonstrated optimised between 0.98 and 1.05 pu after the use of the OPF that the use of an OPF for planning activities while it was between 0.95 and 1.1 without OPF, as shown in CONCLUSIONS allows reducing investments required by Figure 9. Concerning the reactive margin on the power plants, The main conclusion of th Ttransmissio Mmaste an optimal use of all control means. Indeed it can be seen from Figure 10 that 80% of power generating Pplan of Oman is that the development of the voltage profile on the network and the units have a reactive margin above 40% after OPF while only a strong 400kV network is the least-cost reactive margin on the power plants can be 50% have the same level of reactive margin without the OPF. substantially improved by optimal use of tap structure to ensure a reliable and secured changers, compensation means, and voltage supply of the demand by 2030. This 400kV set point of generating units as defined by an PHASING OF INVESTMENT structure implicates a new role of the different OPF. As a consequence, lower investment is voltage levels the 220kV that was formerly The last stage of the TMP deals with the phasing of the required for voltage support in the system. responsible for bulk power transmission has investments amongst the three intermediate years selected now a role of sub-transmission in support to Figure 8: Unacceptable voltage recovery in Muscat area. for this Master Plan (2018, 2020 and 2025). The objective is Figures 9 and 10 illustrate the gain of application 400kV. The 132kV level become a distribution to define for each intermediate year a transmission system of the OPF on the 2017 situation. For a same level and is operated in pocket some areas of accommodating the generation expansion, supplying the load the Network. demand and meeting the security criteria. The reinforcements proposed to solve the identified limitations of the network It is worth mentioning that this conclusion ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS and respect the security criteria are selected from the target was reached thanks to the decision of OETC structure’s portfolio of reinforcements, in order to be in line to have a long term strategic vision of the The authors are grateful to all staff of the main electricity with the long-term development scheme defined by the development of the Omani power system. companies OETC, OPWP, MDEC, MJEC, MZDC, DPC, RAEC 2030 target structure. Table 1 lists the distribution of the MTP This conclusion would have been difficult and PAEW who have contributed in providing data and useful estimated costs up to 2030. to reach with short-term or medium-term discussions to facilitate performing th Ttransmissio Mmaste Pplan development plans. of the Sultanate of Oman 2014-2030. The total investment cost of the additional infrastructure defined under the TMP amounts to 750 million OMR over a period of 13 years. Those investments are not distributed equally over the years. The reason is the necessity of major punctual investments during the period. Those investments are mainly
48 OMAN ELECTRICITY TRANSMISSION COMPANY S.A.O.C. OMAN ELECTRICITY TRANSMISSION COMPANY S.A.O.C. 49 Figure 9: Voltage profile before and after application of OPF.
References [5] Tractebel Engineering, http://www.tractebel- engineering-gdfsuez.com [1] Oman Electricity Transmission Company website: [6] OETC and TE: “Transmission Master Plan Before OPF After OPF http://www.omangrid.com 2014-2030 - Final Report”, Oman Electricity Figure 10: Generation reactive power before and after application of OPF. [2] Adel Al-Busaidi, and I. French: Modeling of Transmission Company, 2014. petroleum development Oman (PDO) and Oman [7] OETC: “Transmission System Security Standard”, 2018 2019-2020 2021-2025 2026-2030 2018-2030 electricity transmission company (OETC) power systems for automatic generation control studies, (Available online) http://www.omangrid.com Lines & cables [MOMR] 88.6 4.8 123.8 35.1 252.3 Proc. Int. Conf. on Communication, Computer, [8] Omar H. Abdalla, Rashid Al-Badwawi, Hilal Al- Grid stations [MOMR] 62.1 29.7 147.3 94.8 333.9 and Power, ICCCP’09, SQU, Muscat, Oman, 15-18 Hadi, and Hisham Al-Riyami: “Performance of Feb., 2009. (Available online) IEEE Xplore Interconnection Oman Transmission System with the 400kV Gulf 0 0 165.3 0 165.3 Cooperation Council Electricity Interconnection”, MIS-Duqm-Salalah [MOMR] [3] OETC: “The Annual Five-Year Transmission System Proceedings of the 2011 IEEE GCC Conference, Total [MOMR] 150.7 34.5 436.4 129.9 ~750MOMR Capability Statement (2014-2018)” (Available Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 19-22 February online) http://www.omangrid.com Table 1: Distribution of master plan investment costs. 2011. [4] Omar H. Abdalla, Hilal Al-Hadi, and Hisham Al-Riyami: [9] Oman Power & Water Procurement Company: “Limiting Short Circuit Currents in Oman Transmission “OPWP’s 7-Year Statement (2014-2020)”, System”, Proc. of the 8th Regional Conference for (Available online) http://www.omanpwp.com.om National Committee of Cigre in the Arab Countries, GCC-Cigre Power 2010, Doha, Qatar, Paper No. [10] OETC, Grid Code, Version 2, (Available online) B302, pp. 332-341, 18-19 October 2010. http://www.omangrid.com
50 OMAN ELECTRICITY TRANSMISSION COMPANY S.A.O.C. OMAN ELECTRICITY TRANSMISSION COMPANY S.A.O.C. 51 The Giraffe… the gift of Kings and Sultans in ancient times The giraffe has two opponents, man and lion. If itesenses any danger, it can reach a sprint speed of up to 48 km/h with its step spanning fiv5 meters. It cannot eat and drink without keeping its front legs widely apart due to its tallness. This difficult position exposes it to serious problems from its foes such as the lion which attack it while it is in such a Issue Break position. Giraffe’s gestation lasts 420–450 days, after which a single calf is normally born. The mother gives birth standing up. The calf emerges head and front legs first and falls to the ground from two-metrs height. A newborn giraffe is about 1.8 m (6 ft) tall and 47 to 70 kg in weight and walks after one hour from its birth. A newborn giraffe will suckle its mother’s milk as soon as it can stand up and grows up very quickly starting to eat tree leaves at a very early age. Giraffes normally feed from Acacia and Commiphora trees Scientists consider the giraffe as the ideal challenge to gravity as before the blood reaches the brain the blood has to travel a distance of two metres and a half from the 12-kg heart located in the middle of the body. Its heart must generate approximately three times more than the Art of Happy Life blood pressure required for a human to maintain blood flow to the brain. The jugular veins also contain several (most commonly seven) valves to Happy life is an exotic art withn10 dimensions, namely the following: prevent blood flowing back into the head from the inferior vena cava 1. Do work that you love, but if you fail to get such work you should practice and right atrium while the head is lowered. Conversely, the blood vessels the hobby that you like in your leisure times. in the lower legs are under great pressure. 2 Take care of your health because good health is the essence of life. You A giraffe does not sleep more than nine9 minutes per day, for three times can do so by eating, drinking and exercising in moderation and distancing of three3 minutes each. Due to the strange structure of its body, princes yourself from hazardous habits. in Africa used to present the giraffe as a gift to the Kings and Sultans. 3. There must be specific goals in each person’s life as this provides Its depictions and drawings were seen in ancient times in temples and enthusiasm and zeal. Day-time and night-time sleep caves. 4 Take life as it is given to you accepting its bitterness and sweetness. It is believed that if a giraffe slips and falls onto the ground with its legs 5. Live your present and do not feel sorry for your past or be concerned Sleep is a naturally recurring state, spread out, it cannot stand up again and remains in such a position until about a tomorrow that has not come. characterized by altered consciousness, relatively inhibited sensory activity and it eventually dies. 6. Think carefully before you initiate any work or decision and do not blame inhibition of nearly all voluntary muscles. others for your decisions and their outcome. It reduces heartbeats and blood pressure, 7. Do not compare yourself with those who are of higher level than you. thus minimizing the pressure on the various 8. Always, keep a smile on your face and a spirit of joy within and enjoy the body organs. While sleeping, the body company of optimists. loses any extra temperature, allowing the 9. Act in such a manner as to make others happy so that you can also feel tissues to relax and regrow. The required happy. hours of sleep vary from one person to 1 4 2 5 10. Seize the beautiful opportunities of happiness that are made available to another, but they should not be less than you and consider them as essential moments of happiness. seven to eight8 hours for adults. 2 7 1 3 9 Sudoku
There is significant difference between 4 GENTLE 10 Fun Facts sleeping at night and at daytime. When Easily solved with simple logic. The difference between 1. You can’t wash your eyes with soap. sleeping at night, the body organs get 2 7 1 6 these and Moderate puzzles may sometimes seem 2. You can’t count your hair. much more comfort than they do during marginal. Ratings must be subjective, as there is no way 3. You can’t breathe through your nose, with your tongue out. daytime when there is more light, noise and 4 of knowing the skill level of the solver. Ease of solving 4. You just tried no. 3. clamor, all of which have great impact on the nervous system. Scientists have recently 6 7 4 3 depend on your skill levels, so even a gentle puzzle may 6. When you did no. 3 you realized it’s possible, only you look like a dog. found out that the optic glands in the brain feel tough to a beginner. But don’t worry, after the first 7. You’re smiling right now, because you were fooled. 7 secrete a substance called Melatonin which few numbers have been found you’ll be solving like a 8. You skipped no. 5 has considerable and direct impact on the veteran in no time. 9. You just checked to see if there is a no. 5. sleep process as darkness augments the 1 2 7 3 5 10. Share this with your friend to have some fun tool. secretion of this substance. 3 8 2 7
52 OMAN ELECTRICITY TRANSMISSION COMPANY S.A.O.C. OMAN ELECTRICITY TRANSMISSION COMPANY S.A.O.C. 53
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54 OMAN ELECTRICITY TRANSMISSION COMPANY S.A.O.C.