Latest news with #MinistryofEnergy
MTV Lebanon
8 hours ago
- Business
- MTV Lebanon
16 Jul 2025 14:11 PM Salam: We are Completely Committed to the Ministerial Statement
Prime Minister Nawaf Salam addressed Parliament, reaffirming his government's priorities and outlining key areas of focus during its short mandate. "This government's lifespan is only a few months," Salam said, emphasizing a strong commitment to reform and recovery. "There will be no turning back from what was stated in the ministerial statement." He highlighted the government's determination to stop Israeli aggressions and extend state sovereignty both north and south of the Litani River. On the refugee file, Salam stated that thousands of Syrian refugees are returning daily. He added that Syrian labor is being regulated and that 120,000 refugees have been removed from the General Security records. Regarding Lebanon's financial sector, he noted that the government has made depositors' rights an absolute priority and has prepared comprehensive draft laws to present to Parliament. He also addressed the energy sector, confirming that the government has decided to stop accumulating debt related to fuel. The Ministry of Energy, he said, is working on two parallel tracks aimed at establishing gas-powered plants. As for waste management, Salam noted that multiple solutions already exist but require substantial funding. He also reaffirmed that media freedom remains protected, with no journalist detained since the government's formation. Watch the attached video for Salam's full statement.
Business Recorder
2 days ago
- Business
- Business Recorder
Discos's miraculous second half recovery
The Ministry of Energy (Power Division) has taken to social media and press briefings with a celebratory tone, touting a dramatic decline in inefficiency losses by discos during FY25 — from Rs591 billion in the previous year to Rs400 billion. A reduction of Rs191 billion is no small feat. But let's not lose sight of the fact that a Rs400 billion loss is still nothing short of catastrophic. It may be a better year, but it's far from a good one. What truly deserves a double take is what transpired in the second half of FY25. According to the Power Minister, recoveries surged to 96.06 percent for the full year — up from a modest 92.02 percent at the end of December 2024. That's a lot of ground covered in just six months. Some might even call it… magical. To put things into perspective: at the halfway mark of the fiscal year, discos had billed Rs3.12 trillion and collected Rs2.87 trillion — a shortfall of Rs249 billion. And then, in the remaining six months, they somehow managed to collect Rs117 billion more than what they billed. In other words, the second half of FY25 witnessed over 100 percent recovery. Approximately 3 billion units' worth of 'extra' collection materialized. Remarkable, no? Of course, consumption patterns, seasonal variations, and tariff structures differ across fiscal halves — that much is fair. But historically, it is the second half that has contributed the lion's share of inefficiency losses — about 60 percent in each of the past two years. That this trend reversed so dramatically in FY25, and with lower effective tariffs in Q4 no less, is a statistical curiosity. The Minister also claimed the recovery was the highest in history. Not quite. FY21 still holds the title at 97 percent. So while the recovery this year may be impressive, it's not unprecedented. Unless, of course, we're using a new definition of "record-breaking." Now, if the recovery side of DISCO inefficiencies is truly turning a corner — that would be welcome news. But for now, let's just say we await Nepra's State of Industry Report for a little more. Whenever it arrives. The second half of the inefficiency equation — Transmission & Distribution (T&D) losses — tells a different story. Here, performance has remained stubbornly poor. The T&D loss rate is still hovering close to 18 percent — miles away from Nepra's target of 11.4 percent. In financial terms, the 'improvement' has been a mere Rs10 billion. Hardly worth framing. Worse still, the gap between allowed and actual T&D losses is now the widest in recent memory. Over the last seven years, losses have moved within a tight band — and not in a good way. There has been little meaningful progress despite ambitious targets and consistent tariff adjustments. And let's not forget — these calculations only account for losses above the allowed threshold. The rest are already priced into consumer tariffs. So, every extra percentage point of inefficiency is a direct transfer from taxpayers and bill-payers to system leakage. In sum: one half of the disco loss problem appears to have undergone a miraculous transformation — or so we're told. The other half continues to underwhelm. Until both parts of the puzzle are fixed — with transparency and structural reform rather than spin — the sector's chronic inefficiencies will remain business as usual.
Saudi Gazette
2 days ago
- Business
- Saudi Gazette
Saudi Arabia operates 10 renewable energy projects with SR19.8 billion in investment by end of 2024
Saudi Gazette report RIYADH — Saudi Arabia operated five new solar energy projects in 2024 with a combined capacity of 3,751 megawatts, bringing the total number of operational renewable energy projects in the Kingdom to 10, according to the General Authority for Statistics' Renewable Energy Statistics Bulletin 2024 released on Sunday. The cumulative projects include nine solar energy plants with a total capacity of 6,151 megawatts and one wind energy project with a capacity of 400 megawatts. The report revealed that total investments in these projects reached SR19.839 billion by the end of 2024, with SR18.264 billion allocated to solar energy projects and SR1.575 billion to wind energy. The projects are expected to supply electricity to approximately 1,140,800 residential units across the Kingdom. Among the findings, the Shuaibah 1 solar project registered the lowest energy purchase cost in Saudi Arabia at 3.9 halalas per kilowatt-hour, compared to other renewable projects where the cost ranged from 3.9 to 11.18 halalas per kilowatt-hour. The bulletin, based on data from the Ministry of Energy, includes time-series statistics on renewable energy developments in the Kingdom from 2019 to 2024.
Saudi Gazette
2 days ago
- Business
- Saudi Gazette
Saudi Arabia signs $8.3B renewable energy deals to add 15 GW in solar and wind capacity
Saudi Gazette report RIYADH — Saudi Arabia has signed seven new agreements to purchase electricity from solar and wind energy projects with a total capacity of 15,000 megawatts, backed by investments estimated at SR31 billion ($8.3 billion). The deals are part of the Kingdom's National Renewable Energy Program, supervised by the Ministry of Energy. The agreements were signed in the presence of Minister of Energy Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman with a consortium led by ACWA Power as the main developer, in partnership with Badeel, a company owned by the Public Investment Fund (PIF), and Aramco's energy arm, Aramco Power. The solar photovoltaic projects include: Bisha (Asir Region) — 3,000 MW Al-Humaij (Madinah) — 3,000 MW Khulais (Makkah) — 2,000 MW Afif 1 and 2 (Riyadh) — 2,000 MW each Production costs for these solar projects ranged from 4.72 to 5.10 halalas per kilowatt-hour. The wind energy projects are: Satara (Riyadh) — 2,000 MW at 7.71 halalas/kWh Shaqra (Riyadh) — 1,000 MW at 6.99 halalas/kWh The simultaneous signing of these large-scale projects — among the biggest globally — reaffirms Saudi Arabia's leadership in renewable energy and its capability to achieve some of the world's lowest electricity generation costs. This is attributed to efficient financing models and strong investor confidence in the Kingdom's business environment. The Saudi Power Procurement Company (SPPC), which serves as the principal buyer, is responsible for project studies, tenders, and signing power purchase agreements with developers. To date, SPPC has tendered 43,213 MW of renewable energy capacity. Of this, 38.7 GW has already been contracted, with 10.2 GW connected to the grid. The connected capacity is expected to reach 12.7 GW by the end of 2025, and 20 GW by 2026.
Gulf Insider
4 days ago
- Business
- Gulf Insider
Saudi Arabia Reaffirms OPEC+ Compliance As June Crude Supply Hits 9.35 Million bpd
Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Energy has confirmed that the Kingdom remained fully compliant with its voluntary OPEC+ production targets in June, with marketed crude oil supply averaging 9.352 million barrels per day. The figure reflects complete alignment with the agreed quota, underscoring Saudi Arabia's ongoing commitment to oil market stability. Amid elevated geopolitical tensions, the Kingdom emphasized that it acted prudently and preemptively in managing its energy output. The Ministry described Saudi Arabia's role as that of a reliable, transparent, and dependable energy supplier, reinforcing the country's efforts to enhance supply chain resilience and support global energy security. Although crude production briefly exceeded marketed supply, the additional volumes were not sold either domestically or internationally. Instead, they were managed as part of a broader contingency strategy. These volumes were directed toward building domestic inventories, improving east-west crude flow optimization, and repositioning barrels to offshore storage hubs under long-term delivery strategies designed to enhance flexibility and responsiveness. The Ministry further stressed that all production and supply figures are reported to the OPEC Secretariat on a monthly basis with full transparency. In addition, all eight OPEC-designated Secondary Sources were formally briefed at the start of the week regarding the June data, reaffirming the Kingdom's commitment to transparency and cooperation within the OPEC+ framework.
