Generation and Desalination

Oman power and Water Procurement Company is responsible for forecasting electricity demand in the Sultanate and for ensuring sufficient capacity is available to meet forecast demands in accordance with the Generation Security Planning Standard of their license. OPWP publishes an annual ‘7 Year Statement’ presenting electricity and desalinated water demand forecasts for different parts of the Sultanate for the next seven years, and identifies any shortages in capacities required to meet the planning standard. 7 Year Statements are available on OPWP’s website. OPWP has an Economic Purchase Obligation, meaning that it must procure new capacity in an economic way, usually through a competitive tender. The Authority ensures that these competitions are conducted in a fair and transparent manner. As for water desalination, OPWP coordinates with PAEW who is responsible for forecasting water demand in the Sultanate and ensuring sufficient capacity is available to meet this demand. When PAEW identifies an upcoming desalination capacity as a “desalination facility of special nature” – i.e. desalination facilities not combined or co-located with a facility for the generation of electricity – OPWP is obliged to purchase this capacity through a competitive tender.

All existing generation companies in Oman have been competitively tendered and are 100% private except for two old plants: Al Ghubra and Wadi Al Jizi. The Authority ensures that these competitions are conducted in a fair and transparent manner. 

In MIS and DPC, OPWP will pay the generation and desalination companies for the purchase of capacity and generation in accordance with the conditions stipulated in the power / water / water purchase agreements. The generation and desalination companies are also paying Oman Electricity Transmission Company for its network connection.