Oman weighs second interconnect to boost power trades with GCC

Oman weighs second interconnect to boost power trades with GCC

MUSCAT: Oman’s electricity authorities are evaluating the benefits of implementing a new interconnect project that will link the main grid of the Sultanate of Oman with those of its Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states via the GCC Interconnection Authority (GCCIA).

When approved and eventually operationalized, the initiative will be the second such interconnect between Oman and the GCC bloc, the first having been established in 2012 at Mahadha where a 220 kV system links Oman with the GCCIA via the UAE (Abu Dhabi) power system.

This time around, Nama Power and Water Procurement Co (PWP) – the sole national buyer of electricity and potable water in the Sultanate of Oman – is weighing a direct 400 kV interconnect from Ibri to Silaa on the UAE’s border with Saudi Arabia.

“This project would provide direct access to all GCCIA Member States and would enhance the benefits in stability, generation planning, and trade opportunities relative to the existing 220 kV link via the UAE,” the PWP – part of Nama Group – stated in its newly published 7-Year Outlook Statement for the 2023 – 2029 timeframe.

Significantly, the proposed interconnect project has already been the subject of a detailed study by the GCCIA. It centres