POWER PURCHASE INCREASED BY 7.5 PER CENT IN 2009

SANA'A, Feb. 20 (Saba) – The bill of purchasing power from the private sector increased through January-November 2009 by 7.5 per cent to YR 21.9 billion, up from YR 20.3 billion in 2008.

The sum included YR 14.3 billion in costs of buying power and the costs of fuel at YR 7.6 billion.

Director General of the Power Purchase Department at the Ministry of Energy Arif Taha said that the revenues from the bought power reached YR 18.3 billion with a deficit of YR 3.5 billion.

The power purchased by the Public Electricity Corporation, estimated at 1625 Gigawatts, rose by 17.8 per cent during this period from 1379 Gigawatts in the same period in 2008, he said.

The ratio of the use of power from the private sector reached 96.74 per cent, Taha said, adding that all Yemeni provinces benefited from the power.

About 445 million liters of diesel, by an 18.5 per cent increase from the same period in 2008, were consumed to generate the power. In 2008, 375 million liters of fuel were used.

The fuel quantities supplied to production stations during the same period were 445 million liters, felling short 13 million liters of diesel of the quantities approved to go to the stations.

The corporation started in mid-2006 to buy power from production stations owned by the private sector to meet soaring demand increasing by 10-12 per cent a year amid declining generation by the public stations.

The move was compulsory and as a temporary alternative amid technical problems the electrical sector is facing.

Though power purchase is expensive, the process is distinguished with quick building of stations in three months during which all process measures occur.

FR