The Ministry of Electricity, Water and Renewable Energy will sign a direct contract with the Electricity Interconnection Authority of the Gulf Cooperation Council states to purchase 600 megawatts for the summer of 2023, after the Board of Directors of the Central Agency for Public Tenders announced it does not have jurisdiction over this issue.
Al-Jarida daily quoting responsible sources indicated “the ministry will proceed with the project to purchase energy from EIA by taking the approvals of the regulatory authorities to complete direct contracting procedures, including the Fatwa and Legislation Department and the Audit Bureau.
The sources pointed out that the ministry had earlier obtained the approval of the Ministry of Finance to purchase energy from the Authority, in order to ensure the safe operation of electrical production units for the current summer season.
The sources expected that electrical loads, starting from the beginning of next June, would witness an increase in energy consumption rates, coinciding with the rise in temperatures expected to range between 43 and 45 degrees Celsius, indicating that the Minister of Electricity, Water and Renewable Energy, and Minister of State for Housing Affairs Mutlaq Al-Otaibi had previously explained that “the highest consumption expected for the current summer will be 16,880 megawatts, while the production by the units will reach 18,000 megawatts.
It is noteworthy that the electrical load index Friday recorded 12740 megawatts, in the presence of a surplus of 2235 megawatts. As for the water level, the production rate exceeded the consumption rate, as the water production rate reached 489 million gallons, while the consumption rate reached 475 million.