The first power from the 2,640MW Jeddah South power plant in Saudi Arabia has been commissioned and is connected to the grid.

According to a statement from the state utility Saudi Electricity Company (SEC), the first 660MW of the plant is now operational and electricity is being supplied to the national grid.

South Korea’s Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) was awarded the $3.2bn contract to build the Jeddah South thermal power plant in October 2012. Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) is supplying the equipment for the 2,640MW oil-fired plant.

The plant will comprise four conventional thermal generating units, each with a minimum capacity of 600MW. The contractor will also be responsible for constructing a 380kV substation to serve the project.

When fully operational, the power plant will be able to produce enough electricity for 2 million people, the equivalent of 5 per cent of the kingdom’s entire power generation capacity.