Service restored in 70% of affected areas within five hours, the remaining early morning on Tuesday

Muscat – The Authority for Public Services Regulation (APSR) has initiated an investigation into Monday’s power outage that brought half the country to a standstill, while Muscat Electricity Distribution Company has apologised for the ‘technical fault’.

APSR said that it will ‘find the reasons that led to the blackout to avoid similar occurrences in the future’.

On Tuesday, Dr Mansour bin Talib al Hinai, chairman of APSR, visited Ibri Grid Station as part of the technical investigation procedures with Oman Electricity Transmission Company (OETC) personnel.

“This outage was due to purely technical reasons. The authority has started an investigation to find out and evaluate the measures taken by OETC to deal with the outage,” Hinai said.

APSR said it is working to take the necessary measures to ensure that licensed companies comply with the recommendations that will result from the technical investigation.

Also on Tuesday, Salman bin Ali al Hatali, CEO of Muscat Electricity Distribution Company, informed that electricity has returned to all affected areas. “We apologise to citizens and residents for this technical fault. The power grid is stable now. The process of restoring electricity was difficult and complicated, that is why it was done gradually. I advise the public to turn off all electrical appliances in the event of a power outage in the future.”

Although such power outages are rare in Oman, experts noted that the most feasible option is to have power backup.

Speaking to Muscat Daily, Abdullah al Saidi, CEO and co-founder of Nafath Renewable Energy, said, “Monday’s power failure is rare, but this can be avoided by having a mix of energy sources at home and commercial places.”

According to Saidi, such incidents require the provision of generators in hospitals, factories, commercial complexes, water desalination plants and fuel stations. “We also need an effective and clear emergency plan to avoid such outages.”

Saidi described solar energy as part of the solution but not a magic solution. “Oman has made great strides in installing solar panels and an increase in its uptake among households and commercial centres will help in not only reducing the load on the power grid but also come handy in emergencies.”

Bader Nasser al Hadabi, CEO of Keystone Engineering Consultancy, observed that Oman is exposed to extreme climatic conditions, such as storms and cyclones, which often lead to heavy rains and power outages. “So we always advise having a power generator at home and commercial stores to be prepared for any electrical failure.

“A power generator can be installed at a cost of RO500 only, which will be enough for two rooms in case of an emergency.”

Badr Abdullah al Saadi, an engineer, too recommended the installation of power generators in homes. “But it must be placed on the roof of a home with adequate protection from rain.”

GCC Interconnection Authority helped Oman in time of crisis

Nama Group issued a statement apologising to all customers who were affected by the sudden electricity outage on Monday.

The interruption, it said, was ‘due to the sudden exit of a high-voltage line between Ibri and Nahida stations as a result of a defect in the control and communication systems, which automatically activated the self-protection system, and caused the line to go out of service to protect the line from damage.

‘The exit of this line was followed by an automatic exit of other lines and power stations to protect them from any damage, which in turn led to power cuts in several governorates.’

The group appreciated the GCC Interconnection Authority for its support in providing Oman electricity during the crisis. There are agreements signed between GCC states to share production capacities in emergency.

In the past, Oman has supported other Gulf countries in times of emergency.

Despite the technical challenges, Nama Group claimed, it restored service among 70 per cent of all affected areas within five hours, and the remaining early morning on Tuesday.