JOE AVANCENA DAMMAM: Energy producers in the Kingdom are under pressure to multiply their production to meet the rising needs of household and industrial users of electricity, according to a senior official of the Saudi Electricity Company (SEC). Addressing the Water, Electricity and Power Generation Forum at the Dhahran International Exhibition Center, which ended Monday, Mohammed Al-Juraifani, SEC Senior Vice President for Planning and Program, said increasing the production SEC and other cogeneration producers, such as Saudi Aramco, Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC), Water & Electricity Company (WEC), and independent power producers (IPP) like Marafiq, requires national concerted efforts. “This national concerted effort is a collaboration of both the producers and consumers of electricity in order to put a balance between actual production and actual demand,” Al-Juraifani said. During the last ten years, actual peak load had been increasing. In 2010, the actual peak load generated from all the interconnected systems was 42,590 megawatt (MW), as against generation capacity of 46,640 (MW), which is slightly in excess of 4,050 MW from the peak load. By 2011, the peak load is expected to rise to 46,110 MW, as against combined generation capacities of all producers of 48,326 MW. The generation capacities of all producers by the year 2020 will reach 89,435 MW, while the Kingdom's peak load by that year is projected to hike to 77,430 MW. “By the year 2032 when the projected national electricity peak load reaches 121,748 MW, it would then be a difficult job for all the stakeholder producers to meet this demand,” Al-Juraifani said. He said that to ensure a continued balance between generation capacities and demand, a number of measures will have to be undertaken. These will include, he said, increasing the efficiency in power generation and water production and minimizing waste. He also proposed the use of economically available feed stocks, like heavy crude fuel, which are also environmentally friendly. Local presenters at the forum also said the Kingdom has also embarked on developing other sources of energy, such as nuclear and solar, to contribute in providing a balance between demand and consumption of power.
