Saudi Gazette report

RIYADH — Senior officials have been sacked following a recent power outage in the southern city of Sharurah, concerned authorities announced on Sunday.

The Saudi Electricity Regulatory Authority (SERA) ordered an urgent investigation into the outage and the delay in restoring the power supply.

The Saudi Electricity Company's (SEC) Board of Directors held an emergency meeting on July 14 to review the investigation results, which were conducted under SERA’s supervision with the assistance of independent technical consultancy firms. The investigation identified a malfunction in a circuit breaker due to a lack of maintenance and failure of protection devices, causing the extensive power outage and the company's inability to deliver electrical services efficiently.

Subsequently, the SEC Board dismissed a senior executive and three managers due to their negligence and failure to fulfill their responsibilities. Eng. Abdulrahman Al-Amoudi has been appointed to carry out the duties of the Executive Vice President for Generation Activities. Eng. Saad Al Shahrani will serve as the Head of the Southern Power Generation Operations Sector, Eng. Mohammed Al Shahrani as the Director of the Department of Gas Stations for Power Generation in the Southern Sector, and Eng. Ali Al Kathiri as the Director of the Sharourah Power Plant.

In addition, the board approved the implementation of technical measures to address the shortcomings that led to the power outage, including necessary maintenance programs and a review of the calibration of protection devices at the plant.

The board emphasized its full commitment to implementing all directives of SERA. This includes continuous monitoring of the readiness of all power generation stations and electricity networks across the Kingdom, with the assistance of independent technical consultancy firms. The board will oversee the implementation of recommendations from the review of the company's summer 2024 plan, address any deficiencies in power service delivery, ensure accountability, and provide urgent updates to SERA.