Syria Today | Syria’s electricity shortfall set to worsen

Syria’s electricity shortfall set to worsen

The shortfall in Syria’s electricity supply is expected to increase from its present 1,000 Megawatt (MW) deficit to 1,800 MW by 2012, the state-run daily newspaper Al-Thawra reported on August 9.

The electricity shortage is producing summertime blackouts in Syria’s largest cities and suburbs, lasting for about two hours in the morning and two hours at night.

In a separate interview published on August 11, the Minister of Electricity Ahmad Qussay Kayyali told the state-run Tishreen newspaper the country was “facing a real crisis”.

According to the Public Establishment for Electricity Generation and Transmission, which publishes notices in newspapers informing residents in Damascus of blackout hours, the country’s electricity deficit is set to worsen in the coming years. While in 2010 the shortage is expected to remain at 1,000 MW, it is set to increase to 1,400 MW by 2011 and 1,800 MW by 2012.

“There has never been an abundance [of electricity] in Syria,” Jihad Yazigi, editor of the Syria Report business newsletter told The Media Line in an interview published on August 11. “Syria has been able to produce enough electricity to cover its needs, but for many years there has been a shortage.”

Government figures cited by Al-Thawra show Syria’s power-generating capacity is officially 7,188 MW, while peak demand from the country’s 22 million inhabitants is around 6,500 MW. “But power stations have a lower output, by as much as 20 percent, because of the age of some production units and heat waves,” Al-Thawra reported.

In an interview published two days later, however, Kayyali said electricity production ranges between 5,500 MW and 6,200 MW, hindered by a lack of maintenance of ageing power stations and skyrocketing demand which is growing by 7-10 percent a year.

Cable links with neighbouring countries have been of “little use” as supplies are unavailable when the mercury rises. Egypt, which was offering 100 MW to Syria, and Jordan have both cut off supplies. Syria is presently buying electricity from Turkey, which has made 200 MW to 250 MW available since August 7, Kayyali said.

Syria needs at least one new 600 MW power station at a minimum cost of SYP 33bn (EUR 500m) every year for the next six years to reach the target capacity of 13,000 MW by 2015, Kayyali told Tishreen.

According to analysts, decades of neglect have left power plants in desperate need of repair. The work of foreign companies awarded contracts to modernise Syria’s electricity production and generation is also yet to bear much fruit. A joint contract awarded to German companies Siemens and Koch was delayed for a year after the latter went bankrupt, The Media Line reported. The news service also claims another contract, awarded to two Spanish and French bidders, was not carried out because the two companies could not agree on operational issues.