The paper studies information gathered by the Arab Union of Producers, Transporters, and Distributors of Electricity (AUPTDE) on the rationalization of consumption and improvement of efficiency of Arab power sector.
It concludes that the efficiency of Arab Power generating plants is low when compared to similar plants in industrial countries.
The paper shows that power plants in industrial countries maintain a thermal efficiency rate of 40 percent compared to 30 percent for Arab plants.
Moreover, plants in the former tend to have an average loss rate of about 10 percent while those of the latter average more than 20 percent.
The load factor associated with power plants in industrial countries runs at an average of over 75 percent compared to only 65 percent for Arab plants.
The aforementioned statistics confirm that Arab power plants are not managed in an optimal manner, which tends to increase their cost of production.
To improve the efficiency of Arab power plants the paper recommends adoption of several measures including: reducing the gap between peak and off-peak loads, improving the performance of human resources as well the quality of service and maintenance.
It also recommended completing the interconnection of Arab power grids to lower per unit investment cost.
Source:OAPEC.COM
Rashad Abou Ras (Director of Institutional Planning National Electricity Company, Jordan) and Mohammad Azzam (Secretary General, Arab Union of producers, Transporters, and Distributors of Electricity – AUPTDE)
