Government to secure 18m cubic metres of gas/day for Siemens power plants by year’s end

The ministries of electricity and petroleum have agreed to secure 18m cubic metres of gas per day in order for the three power plants implemented by Siemens in Beni Suef, Borollos, and the New Administrative Capital to produce 4,400 MW by December.

The units will first generate electricity and then feed it to the national grid in the first week of September, said chairperson of the Egyptian Electricity Holding Company (EEHC) Gaber Dessouky.

Dessouky told Daily News Egypt that the power plants will undergo a pilot phase in September and October using 15m cubic metres of gas per day.

All three stations can generate a total of 14,400 MW running on full capacity, which will require 66m cubic metres of gas per day—22m cubic metres for each plant.

According to the schedule, the first phase of the project begins in November producing 800 MW. The capacity is then lifted to 5,600 MW in May 2017, 7,600 MW in November 2017, and 10,400 in January 2018. The power plants will enter their last phase in April 2018 to produce a total of 14,400 MW.

Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tarek El-Molla presented to the president this week the mechanisms to provide supplies of fuel for the domestic market and to ensure provision of the necessary energy for the electricity sector as well as the new stations that are under-construction, including Siemens power plants.

He also demonstrated a plan for providing adequate supplies to run all power stations at full capacity, especially with the beginning of Ramadan and the summer season—a period that will see increased loads on the electricity grid.

The petroleum sector has an important role in the stability of the power supply besides its efforts to provide the quantities of gas and fuel for power plants, said Dessouky.

There will be no shortages or problems related to the availability of fuel for power plants, and there is a backup quantity of alternative fuel in the stations’ repositories to secure their operation, the chairperson said.

The growing oil dues in the electricity sector, as well as the electricity dues in different state authorities will not be a reason to disable major national projects or provide electricity requirements, said the chairperson of the Electricity Holding Company S.A.O.C.

The sector works on re-paying the fuel consumption value regularly.