Damascus-Sana
The efforts of the Ministry of Electricity during the year 2020 focused on improving the electrical system, following up on the construction of new transmission stations to put them into service, rehabilitating a number of gas and steam groups, improving transmission and distribution networks of electricity in the governorates, completing the implementation of medium and low voltage lines, encouraging investment in the field of renewable energies, in addition to establishing a communications infrastructure. Between the electricity distribution companies and the main office in the Electricity Transmission and Distribution Corporation.
In the field of encouraging private investment in renewable energies, the Ministry issued a decision to raise the prices of electricity purchased and produced from small wind and hydroelectric turbines and biomass sources. The prices of electricity purchased from photovoltaic collectors projects were reduced due to the significant reduction in their founding costs globally and locally. Procedures were simplified and facilities were granted to investors to complete their projects and connect them to the network. And the purchase of their entire production of electricity in addition to the agreement with the Industrial Bank to grant industrialists soft loans to finance 70 percent of the costs of establishing their own renewable energies within their facilities to meet part of their electricity consumption.
The Ministry has carried out a number of vital projects in the field of generation, transmission and distribution of electricity and projects to improve citizen service. In the field of electricity generation, the Ministry continues to establish a generating station in Lattakia (in the Rastin area) with a combined circuit with a capacity of 526 megawatts at a set cost of 411 million euros, and the percentage of construction work is about 25 percent. It is expected that the first gas group will be put into service by the end of 2021, and work is underway to complete the second expansion projects for the Dirali power plant with a capacity of 750 megawatts at a set cost of 671 million euros, in addition to the Tishreen steam power plant with a capacity of 400 megawatts and a set cost of 305 million euros.
In order to supplement the electrical system with 380 megawatts, the Ministry, during the second half of this year, maintained and rehabilitated several gas and steam groups in the generation stations, depending on financial resources and local expertise, which provided the state with foreign parts valued at 12.5 million euros in the implementation of the general maintenance of these turbines where the workers carried out General maintenance of the first steam group in the Zara power station and raising its capacity from (50 to 190) MW, an increase of 140 MW, depending on financial resources and local expertise. Also, general maintenance was carried out for the first gas group in the Jandar Power Station, which has been stalled since 2018, and the generator and turbine axles were replaced with expertise. Local government provided foreign parts with a value of 3 million euros and is currently supplying the electrical system with a capacity of 100 megawatts. The first gas turbine has been rehabilitated in the Nasiriya power plant, which has been stalled since 2014, and the provision of foreign parts worth 2.5 million euros and supplies the network with a capacity of 140 megawatts.
In the field of transmission and distribution of electricity, 13.3 billion Syrian pounds were spent during the second half of this year to complete feeding the liberated areas with electricity and improving the transmission and distribution networks of electricity in most governorates, where 294 km of medium voltage lines and 46 km of low voltage lines were completed and 131 transfer centers were equipped in addition to replacing 3.8 km medium voltage lines, 36.4 km low voltage lines and 99 transfer centers, including special projects for the Aleppo governorate, including putting the Zerba and ICARDA station into service, in addition to the implementation of a line in the Shuqif industrial substation 66 in the Lyramoun area.
4 industrial exits with a length of 50 km from the Zerba Industrial Station were rehabilitated, in addition to the rehabilitation of a line in the Mansoura Industrial Area, and 126 service centers and 87 private centers were placed.
The Ministry also repaired and rehabilitated the transmission and distribution networks of electricity affected by the fires that broke out in the countryside of the governorates of Lattakia, Tartous and the western countryside of Homs, where the electricity was restored in a short period of time, and the value of spending on the mentioned reforms amounted to about 1.3 billion Syrian pounds.
The Ministry also worked to improve the services provided to citizens in the field of electronic payment, and in cooperation between the Ministries of Electricity and Communications, a communications infrastructure was established between the electricity distribution companies and the main center in the Electricity Transmission and Distribution Corporation. Billing systems were prepared to connect with the national payment system, and the electronic payment service became available to all citizens in the governorates. As the service was launched in the city of Damascus at the beginning and work has been completed in the governorates of Homs, Aleppo, Lattakia, Hama, Sweida, Tartous and Quneitra, and it is expected that the governorates of Daraa and Deir Ezzor will be included in this program by the end of this year.
The Ministry has completed the project to enable citizens to provide services for electricity via mobile in the name of “subscriber services”, which is “inquiring about an invoice, entering a visa, submitting a complaint, submitting a bill repair request, requesting an invoice installment, and inquiring about identification papers and meter prices.” The experiment was circulated to 6 companies and the work will be circulated. With this application to the rest of the governorates during the year 2021, noting that the expected time for completion of work is the end of 2021.
Sakina Muhammad
