Middle East & Africa News

Latest news and developments from Middle East and Africa regions

• Egyptian Elsewedy Electric bags EGP355 million substation contract

  September 3, 2020
  Elsewedy Electric’s subsidiary, Elsewedy Electric for Trading & Distribution, has bagged an EGP355.5 million contract for the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) of a substation in Sadat city, Egypt.

• EETC awards South Korean, Chinese consortium with EGP295 million substation contract in Egypt

  September 2, 2020
  Recently, state-owned Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (EETC) has awarded a EGP295 million contract to a consortium comprising of South Korean Hyosung, and Chinese TBEA Hengyang and TBEA Zonfa for the construction of the 220/66/11 kV Alex West substation in Alexandria district.

• Saudi SEC signs syndicated financing agreement with seven local banks

  September 1, 2020
  As per news reports, the Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) has signed a seven-year unsecured syndicated borrowing agreement worth SAR9 billion with seven major Saudi banks, namely National Commercial Bank, Bank Albilad, Al-Rajhi Bank, Riyad Bank, Samba Financial Group, Banque Saudi Fransi and the Saudi British Bank.

• Oman’s ONEIC, Voltamp sign agreement for 220 kV power transformers

  September 1, 2020
  Oman’s local construction company, Oman National Engineering & Investment Company SAOG (ONEIC), has signed an agreement with Voltamp Power, a subsidiary of Voltamp Energy Oman, for the design, manufacture, supply, and testing of two 500 MVA, 220/132/33 kV power transformers.

• Hitachi ABB Power Grids secures contract from GCCIA for RelCare solution

  August 26, 2020
  Hitachi ABB Power Grids has entered into a three-year agreement with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Interconnection Authority (GCCIA) for the use of the former’s new reliability-based service solution—RelCare, which will remotely monitor the maintenance of 400 kV substations across the six members of the GCC [Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman and the United Arab Emirates (UAE)].

• SEC awards SAR61 million contracts to Saudi-based players

  August 24, 2020
  Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) has awarded two transmission contracts worth SAR60.65 million to Saudi Arabia-based National Contracting Company (NCC) and NESMA Telecom & Technology Limited (NESMA Electric)—a subsidiary of NESMA Holding.

• TCN constructs transmission work centres in Nigerian states

  August 24, 2020
  State-owned Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has completed two new work centres in the Nigerian states of Katsina and Jalingo, which have been created to decentralise TCN’s services for improving its operational efficiency.

• US’ GE win USD1.2 billion worth power contracts in Iraq

  August 19, 2020
  Recently, the US-based General Electric’s (GE) divisions—Gas and Power, and Grid Solutions, have bagged generation and transmission contracts respectively, cumulatively valued at USD1.26 billion from the Iraqi Ministry of Electricity (MoE), for meeting the growing electricity demand, especially during the peak summer and for strengthening the country’s power infrastructure.

• Cyprus gives final building permit for HVDC EuroAfrica Interconnector

  August 19, 2020
  As per news reports, Cyprus has issued the final building permit for the converter station under the high voltage direct current (HVDC) EuroAfrica Interconnector, which will connect the electricity grids of Egypt, Cyprus and Greece through a subsea DC cable and HVDC onshore converter stations.

• UAE's first NPP connected to national grid via 400 kV line

  August 19, 2020
  Abu Dhabi Transmission and Despatch Company (TRANSCO), subsidiary of Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (TAQA), in partnership with the developer of the Barakah nuclear power plant (NPP) Nawah Energy Company (Nawah), have connected Unit 1 of the NPP to the United Arab of Emirates’ (UAE) grid network.

• Jordan and Saudi Arabian Ministries sign MoU for connecting grid networks

  August 18, 2020
  Jordan’s Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources and Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Energy have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the framework for connecting the power grids of both the countries, via 164-km-long line passing from Qurayyat (Saudi Arabia) to East Amman (Jordan).

• Saudi’s SEC invites bids for 380 kV OHTLs

  August 18, 2020
  Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) has invited tenders for 1,036-km-long, 380 kV double-circuit, overhead transmission lines (OHTLs) interconnecting the Arar, Rafha, Qaisumah, Hail and Al Jouf areas of the country.

• Mozambican government approves financing agreements under 400 kV TTP

  August 17, 2020
  The Mozambican government has approved five financing agreements associated with the Temane Transmission Project (TTP)—which is the transmission component of the Temane Regional Electricity Project (TREP).

• Nigerian Siemens Project to add 25 GW transmission capacity by 2025

  August 13, 2020
  Under the deal signed between the Nigerian government and German Siemens, the latter has committed to upgrade 105 power substations, and build 70 new substations and 35 power transformers in a phased manner under the Presidential Power Initiative (PPI), also known as the Siemens Project, which will add 25 GW of transmission capacity by 2025 in the country.

• Egyptian Elsewedy bags USD38.6 million substation contract from DRC’s SNEL

  August 10, 2020
  The Democratic Republic of Congo's (DRC) power utility Société Nationale d'Électricité (SNEL) has awarded a USD38.6 million contract to Elsewedy Electric’s subsidiary—Elsewedy Electric for Trading & Distribution—for the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) of a 220-15/6.6 kV high voltage distribution substation in the city of Kasumbalesa.

• South African Eskom seeks bids for BESS project under EISP, ERSP

  August 10, 2020
  The South African, state-owned Eskom Holdings SOC Limited (Eskom) has invited international competitive bids for the design, engineering, supply, construction, erection, testing and commissioning of a Battery Energy Storage System (BESS), with a minimum of 80 MW/320 MWh usable capacity, at the Skaapvlei substation in the Western Cape province of South Africa.

• NERC plans to introduce competition transition charge in Nigeria

  August 7, 2020
  The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) plans to allow the electricity distribution companies (DisCos) and trading licensees to introduce a competition transition charge (CTC), which has been receiving public criticisms.

• Egyptian EETC chooses TBEA as successful bidder for 220 kV UGC contract

  August 5, 2020
  Recently, state-owned Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (EETC) announced the Chinese TBEA Shandong Luneng Taishan Cable Company Limited as a successful bidder for the 220 kV Zahraa Nasr City Interconnection, which is part of the Egyptian Power Transmission Project (EPTP) being funded by the European Investment Bank (EIB).

• Moroccan ONEE finds leak in 400 kV Spain grid link

  August 4, 2020
  As per Morocco’s Office National de l'Electricité et de l'Eau Potable (ONEE) there has been a minor leak of a biodegradable insulating liquid at a submarine cable (Number 4) of the power interconnection with Spain, which is owned jointly by ONEE and Spanish Red Electrica De Espaňa (REE).

• Ethiopia earns USD66 million from power exports to Sudan, Djibouti

  August 4, 2020
  As per the state-owned Ethiopian Electric Power (EEP), the country earned USD66.4 million from power exports to its neighboring countries—Sudan and Djibouti—during the last Ethiopian Fiscal Year (FY) [July 8, 2019 to July 7, 2020], representing a 116 per cent increase over the planned target of USD57 million.