Technical Regulation
Health and Safety
One of the most key roles of the Authority is to ensure the safe and secure development and operation of the electricity and related water sector, including the safety of the general public. The Authority conducts regular Health and Safety audits looking comprehensively at the Licensees’ safety Policies, Plans, Processes, and Procedures against their statutory obligations. The technical team also conducts Incident investigations into Safety related incidents, mainly in the event of a fatal accident. The team is also called by the Public Prosecution to provide technical support on a range of technical matters.
Continuity of Supply – Codes, Standards and Technical Investigations
The Authority monitors the continuity of supply. This is achieved by compliance of the licensees to the Grid Code, Distribution Code and Oman Electrical Standards. The Authority also review and recommend for approval the system planning standards which include the Generation, Transmission and Distribution systems security standards. Members of the Authority’s technical team represent the Authority in the Grid Code Review Panel and the Distribution Code Review Panel. The Authority is also responsible for reviewing significant incident reports produced by the sector and undertakes technical incident investigations whenever required to ensure system performance improvement.
Efficiency and Performance
The Authority works to ensure efficient capital investments. The Authority reviews the capital programmes as part of the Price Control allowances set during the review process (CAPEX allowances). The objective of ensuring both technical and procurement efficiency is a fundamental one and is achieved through comprehensive technical reviews. The Authority set up the practice of Pre Investment Appraisal Documentation which became the primary tool for system planning within the sector. The Authority undertakes a robust investment ex-ante and then ex-post reviews to drive the efficiency of capex expenditure. The Authority also works on the development of system performance incentive mechanisms that mainly targets losses reduction, improvement of security of supply, and improving economic generation dispatch.
Technical Support, Studies and Regulations
Finally the Authority provides different types of technical support across the board. The Authority’s technical staffs have led several studies and initiatives such as the Renewable Energy and ELF-EMF studies. Other initiatives include the Cyber Security regulation and other technical regulations presently under development.