Sonelgaz General Manager to Echorouk: “Gvnt spent 7.000 b DZ to support the price of electricity in Algeria”

Algiers-An Unprecedented rise in the consumption of electricity in Algeria reaches 14% between 2008 and 2009 compared to 7% between 2009 and 2010, and then 14% between 2010 and 2011, General Maneger of Sonelgaz Noreddine Bouterfa told Echorouk.

 “This means that the demand which was expected for 2012 have been recorded last year, a demand to be dealt with currently through new stations to enter service beginning of 2012, including Tagha station in Temouchent (west of Algeria) with a capacity of 1120 MW, Koudia Darawish in Taref (east of Algeria) to start by mid 2012 with the cazpacity of 1140 MW, and other new 500 MW oriented to southern region like Oued Souf, Biskra a,d Hassi Messaoud from traditional and renewable energies with the launch of electricity station of Hedjina in Hassi R’mel (south of Algeria)”, the spokesman added.

“Linking the region of Fekrina in Oum El Bouaki (east of Algeria) with Biskra (south) with a capacity of 400 KV would enable the company to cover any exceptional demand in the southern regions during summer. These regions need currently about 800 MW, and would be enhanced with a new station with a capacity of 100 MW after the arrival of natural gas to El Oued”, he explained.

“ We call upon the government to settle the problems of bureaucracy concerning the strengthening of the link between the eastern side of the country with the central and western side through a lien of 400 KV in the region of Si Mostafa (Boumerdes, east of Algiers) and the region of Ksour (Bejaia, east of Algeria). Government has purchased the total inability of the company worth 209 billion DZ, in the process of recapitalizing the company to prevent it from raising the prices of electricity for families. Without the state’s support the company was forced to raise the prices of distribution by 50% at least, i.e. raising the price of electricity from 4 DZ currently at distribution to 7 DZ at least per 1 K-H. the total support for families is 700 b DZ, despite the volume of theft in some areas reaches 80% of the population in some municipalities who do not pay electricity”, he asserted.

“Sonelgaz faced bureaucratic obstacles to get on the necessary property to extend the network of high pressure to 400 KV, to tighten the link between eastern and western regions of the country. Algeria linked its network with Tunisia and Morocco with 400 KV allowing Sonatrach to export electricity to Morocco since last July. Sonalgaz exported over 100 MW to Morocco. The quantities exported by the company thanks to the new way of negotiations with foreign private companies operating in Algeria, especially through preventing these companies from exporting electricity directly.”

“Foreign companies in Algeria are obliged to sell all their production to Sonelgaz the only empowered by Algerian law to export energy abroad. The new way of negotiations allowed the company to benefit from foreign investments in electricity in Algeria”.