Fahd Al-Manaee Saudi Gazette MAKKAH – The Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) has devised a comprehensive plan to deal with possible blackouts that might take place in the holy sites and restore electricity within a maximum of two hours, Ali Al-Barak, CEO of SEC, told a press at the company's headquarters in Mina. The SEC is facing a myriad of challenges due to the increasing number of pilgrims and the need for more facilities, Al-Barak pointed out. He also said two projects that were implemented in the Rabigh and Al-Shuaibah areas will bolster the capacity of electricity stations in the holy sites. The studies the SEC conducts and implements are the result of exhaustive research and accurate forecasts, he added. The SEC expects increased demand for electricity with the new development projects that have been implemented in the holy sites, he explained. “The company has increased its capabilities to cope with the demand.” The SEC took into consideration the fact that demand would increase with the implementation of some projects in the holy sites, including the Mashair Train, the new Al-Moaisim slaughterhouse, Al-Jamarat Building and new tunnels that have all been electrified. There is a team of technicians who are ready to step in and respond to any emergency caused by an electrical failure. The Mashair Train, for instance, is provided with electricity from different stations, he added. Al-Barak talked about the compensation that should be paid to citizens who suffer from the consequences of power outages. He said sometimes the cause of a power outage might be out of SEC's hands. He mentioned an incident during which 160 electric cables were destroyed by vandals over one month and how this affected subscribers. He also said natural disasters might cause power outages as well and these are out of SEC's control. However, he added, if the power outage is the fault of an SEC employee, this would be treated as a different matter entirely. The SEC is working on replacing old cables with new ones to reduce supply disruptions. He told the conference that the Kingdom is one of the countries that provide the best electricity services in the region and the SEC is working on upgrading and improving its services in the future. Responding to a question on why the SEC emergency room does not respond to electricity failure calls quickly, Al-Barak said sometimes the room receives calls from different members of the same family. “We get a call from the father, then the son, then the wife and they all live in the same house. This causes confusion to the emergency room operators.”
