Oman Power and Water Procurement (OPWP) Company says meeting a sharp increase in electricity demand in the country will be its main challenge in the coming years.

This [demand growth] is scary, so we need to manage the demand,” said Hilal Abdullah al-Nasseri speaking at the Oman Power and Water Summit in Muscat on 5 May.

The Main Interconnected System (MIS), covering the north of the sultanate, grew by 9.9 per cent between 2007 and 2012. For the period from 2012 to 2019 there are three forecasts. The most conservative scenario predicts demand growth of 7.6 per cent, the company’s medium projection is 9.5 per cent and the most aggressive scenario predicts demand growth of 11.4 per cent.

For the Salalah System covering the south of the sultanate around Salalah, growth between 2007 and 2012 was 10 per cent. Between 2012 and 2019 there are three potential scenarios, the lowest forecasting 7 per cent growth, and a mid-range forecast of 12 per cent. The highest forecast is for 13 per cent growth in demand.

The growth in demand will be met by the commissioning of new power plants. OPWP recently commissioned plants at Sohar and Barka, and more capacity will be added in the coming years with new projects such as the Salalah 2 independent power project (IPP).