Regulator audits preparedness of power firms in tackling outages

Following a large number of power system incidents that resulted in interruptions to supplies to customer, the Authority for Electricity Regulation Oman (AER) has decided to audit the power system protection capabilities of sector companies.

To this end, the Authority commissioned Vector Power Solutions Ltd. (VPS) to conduct the assessment. This audit was undertaken against the Appropriate Person criteria, i.e. to determine whether the companies had the technical resources available to undertake the power system protection duties required under their licences.

The initial audit in 2013 found that none of the companies met the requirements of an appropriate person for power system protection.

As a result of that work, specific and targeted recommendations were made to enhance the capability of the companies and their contractors. This process has been successful for those companies that engaged fully with the process.

The Authority conducted follow-up audits in 2015 and 2016 to monitor the progress that has been made.

The Authority has published a summary report for the 2016 followup audit in an anonymised form which shows that significant progress and improvements have been delivered by the sector, with targeted programmes for staff competency development and the adoption of best practices.

Ibrahim al Harthi (pictured), Director of Technical Directorate said, “The release of the assessment report ensures the continued transparency of the electricity sector and showcases the level of progress that has been achieved in power system protection in Oman to prevent supply interruptions that aren’t necessary.”