RIYADH: An investigation into the massive power outage that struck several parts of the Kingdom two weeks ago has been blamed on a broken high-tension wire falling on another line, triggering a short circuit in the Qassim grid, Al-Eqtisadiah newspaper reported yesterday.
On July 23, an unusual power blackout struck many parts of the Kingdom for several hours, disrupting public life and affecting many factories and businesses.
Saleh Mohammed Al-Onaizan, acting CEO of the electricity company, said at the time that the malfunctioning resulted in the loss of 3,400 megawatts from the network that links the eastern and central regions of the Kingdom, accounting for 15 percent of the total supply of the network.
“The supply was disrupted first at 3:40 p.m. because a short circuit on the 380kV circuit resulting in the automatic shutdowns,” Al-Eqtisadiah said quoting a report by a committee appointed by the Saudi Electric Company to probe the blackout in Riyadh, Hail, Qassim and the Eastern Province cities of Dammam, Jubail and Al-Ahsa.
The report said that two of the output circuits at the No. 9 Power Plant in Qassim were disconnected shortly before the blackout because one of the lines required repairs while the other had to be switched off for the safety of the repairmen.
The report also said that the inability of the power plants to stabilize the voltage level in the Qassim grid created a rippling effect on the power plants supplying to and connecting between Qassim and Hail grids.
The overload triggered by the breakdown in Hail and Qassim affected the other grids linked to them and caused frequency fluctuations in the generating plants in Riyadh and other regions unleashing a series of automatic shutdowns.
Though repair works to resume the power supply was taken on an emergency footing several unforeseen problems led to the unexpected delay in the total restoration of the supply in all the affected regions, the report said.
As a precautionary measure to avoid any serious supply breakdown in future, the committee underscored the need for undertaking backup projects to supplement the power network in the central region, not later than summer next year. It also recommended making studies to guarantee uninterrupted power supply at peak consumption hours or when a fault in the 380kV network occurs.
“There is a serious defect in the 380kV transmission network in the central grid that warrants taking steps immediately so that the supply is not affected even if one or two circuits fail in summer,” the report pointed out.
The committee also recommended the commissioning of the Sudair Al-Fadli transmission line to avoid recurrence of similar power outages in future.
Following the power disruption, Al-Onaizan pledged that the company would take steps to maintain an uninterrupted electricity supply. He said that the SEC was currently on an expansion course with ambitious plans to ensure full electrification of all Saudi cities and villages by 2010.
