Muscat Governorate Witnesses Significant Surge In Small-Scale Photovoltaic Connections

By the end of 2022, 114 small-scale photovoltaic systems were connected to the local grid in Muscat Governorate, compared with 70 PV systems 1 year ago, representing an increase of more than 100% year-on-year. This shows the increasing use of renewables to replace gas-based electricity in public and private buildings.

According to Muscat Electrical Distribution Company (MEDC), a licensed distributor and provider of electricity in Muscat governorate, installed solar system offered 9,201kW of production capacity by end-2022. This is up from 6,996kW a year ago.

Acting CEO of MEDC, Salman Ali al Hattali commented that “Oman Vision 2020 and the National Energy Strategy set a target for 20% of electricity to come from renewables by 2030. MEDC is committed to supporting this, given its scope and regulatory requirements.”

He added that “we have connected 41 Solar Photovoltaic systems with DC capacities of 2,276.07kW in 2022, compared to 27 Solar PV systems and AC capacities (kW) of 3,177.5 the previous year. We now have 114 Solar-PV systems with a total capacity of 9,201kW connected since the start of Renewable Energy Implementation.”

Investors in small-scale PV capacity include government and private schools as well as shopping malls, commercial establishments, and property developers.

Al Hattali, citing some of the achievements of the last year, said that the rollout of Automated Metering Readings (AMR) continues to progress in 2022 according to the utility’s Digital Strategy. In 2022, around 50K smart meters were installed, bringing the total up to 80K since the program began, Al Hattali noted.

This is a big step towards smart transformation. It will increase the reliance on Artificial Intelligence and Data Accuracy and enhance our ability to give customers better insights into their consumption and billing. The Acting CEO said that this will also result in increased operational efficiency and reduce system losses.