A platform for stakeholders to share knowledge, best practices and new ideas

CONFERENCE 2014

KNOWLEDGE SHARING

OER’s Company Special on Electricity Holding Group

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Published byUnited Press & Publishing LLCPO Box 3305, Ruwi, Postal Code 112Muscat, Sultanate of OmanTel: (+968) 24700896, Fax: (+968) 24707939Email: publish@umsoman.com

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Copyright © 2014 United Press & Publishing LLCPrinted by Ruwi Modern Press

For more information/participation, contactRahul 99868035

An Presentation

POWERING SUSTAINABLE GROWTHAt the outset, I would like to extend a hearty welcome to one and all to the Knowledge Sharing Conference 2014 organised by Electricity Holding Group (EH Group) in Muscat on November 3 and 4.

The conference is a key stakeholder engagement activity that brings all its leaders, decision makers, business change managers, programme managers, industry experts, strategic partners and suppliers to share the latest developments, best practice and new ideas.

Energy sector is the key to powering prosperity in any country and the Sultanate is no exception. The Electricity Holding Group (EH Group) has been playing a signi icant role in the provision of electricity to the whole country. The Group’s mission is to provide electricity solutions by optimising and utilising its resources through implementing ive critical strategies-Customer Service, Asset management, Health and Safety, Human Resource Development and Communication. It has also devised a ive-year strategy to address key issues related to delivering sustainable electricity

solutions to customers.

Customers are the prime focus of the strategy. The Group’s vision is to provide safe and sustainable electricity solutions to its customers. The communications strategy programme is an enabler of other strategic programmes and provides the necessary framework, policies, and engagement tools to communicate with the public and within the group of the companies and other stakeholders.

The EH Group’s vision and common values are shared amongst the eleven subsidiaries and the strategies are applied by the subsidiaries that ind them relevant to their business. The Sustainability Policy will govern the selection of projects that ultimately result in increasing In-country Value, reducing carbon footprint and spreading the culture of occupational health and safety and volunteering work. The implementation of the sustainability policy is based on the direct inancial contribution of RO5,00,000 per annum and indirectly by encouraging staff to participate in volunteering activities through the provision of one paid volunteering day per annum.

On behalf of the organisers, I would like to extend a hearty welcome to the delegates and also local and international speakers, who will address the conference. I would also like to extend my gratitude to the sponsors and others for their overwhelming support to the conference.

Ghada bint Mohammed Al YousefExecutive Manager - Group Communications and Sustainability, Electricity Holding Company

INTRODUCTION

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Excerpts from an interview:

Electricity Holding Group unveiled its ive-year business strategy with ive key pillars in 2013. Can you

elaborate on the key areas of the strategy and its objectives?Electricity Holding Group (EH Group) plays a very important role in the pro-vision of electricity to the whole coun-try. Electricity is essential to the eco-nomic development of the Sultanate as no other sector can function effectively without this vital service. Therefore it is part of our job to make sure that this service is delivered reliably and sus-tainably to the whole country.

The group devised its ive-year strategy to address the key issues related to delivering sustainable electricity solutions to our customers. The leadership team has identi ied customer service, asset management, health and safety, human resources and communication as their key ive strategy pillars or programmes.

The prime focus of the strategy is our customers which is complemented by the strong foundation of our human resources strategy. And of course none of this can happen without really focusing on human resources development, because primarily the success of all of these strategies depend on having the right set of people who are well selected, well trained , competent and

motivated to serve the public.

In our vision to provide safe and sus-tainable electricity solutions to our customers, the mission relies consider-ably on the quality, reliability and ef i-ciency of the infrastructure we provide through the asset management strategy programme. In everything that we do, the health and safety strategy pro-gramme will provide the necessary poli-cies and culture to ensure that we do no harm to our staff, to contractors and to the public at large. The communications strategy programme is an enabler of other strategic programmes and pro-vides the necessary framework, policies, and engagement tools to communicate with the public and within the group of the companies and other stakeholders.

Now, one year down the line, how much progress has been made on implementing this strategy?

We are currently implementing all these strategies in parallel. There are some more straight forward projects which have already been implemented and now form part of Group’s system and business as usual. In addition, we are in the process of setting up substantial infrastructure, mainly IT infrastructure, and putting resources and systems to support the delivery of other projects.

We are steadily progressing on the strategy programmes, and now, having inished one year, we are getting into

the actual phase of implementation and there are companies who are already realising the bene its of some of the key projects. Many of these strategies involve more than one company and the progress of each company depends on its capabilities to implement and manage the delivery of the change in the process, system or policy.

EH Group has been a proponent of sustainability and the company has set up a committee to take this forward. Why is it important for the sector to focus on sustainable growth?We think it is very important to imple-ment the best international practices when it comes to sustainability. EH Group focuses on three important themes of sustainability: social devel-opment, environmental protection and economic development. We have ad-opted a sustainability policy to address these three areas and we will be ensur-

POWERING THE ECONOMYELECTRICITY HOLDING GROUP CEO, ENG. OMAR AL WAHAIBI TALKS ABOUT THE OBJECTIVES OF THE GROUP’S AMBITIOUS FIVE-YEAR BUSINESS PLAN AND ITS FOCUS ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

GROUP LEADERSHIP

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ing that we cover all the three themes during the course of the year. On the economic development front, our focus is on helping college students and grad-uates set up small and micro enterpris-es with a view to further develop this area within the electricity sector.

With regards to conservation, our focus is on reducing our carbon footprint in the production of electricity. EH Group has worked on reviewing the generation of electricity systems and switching over from open cycle gas turbine to combined cycle gas turbines which increases the ef iciency dramatically. We are also planning to organise campaigns to raise awareness and call for more ef icient consumption of electricity, for households and for commercial and industrial purposes. On social development, our focus is on promoting a culture of volunteerism. Therefore, our sustainability policy goes beyond fund allocation and includes the allocation of human resources in the delivery of the policy. This provides a better framework whereby the culture is grown from within the organisation. Each staff is allowed to spend one-paid day annually to volunteer for a good cause.

EH Group has eleven subsidiary companies. As a parent company, how are you trying to foster these values in your subsidiary companies too?The group’s vision and common values are shared amongst the subsidiaries and the strategies are applied by the subsid-iaries that ind them relevant to their business. We work together through a methodology called managing success-ful programmes (MSP) which functions through various boards consisting of representatives from all the subsidiar-ies. Each of these programme boards is led by one of the CEOs of the companies and basically these boards are in charge

of implementing the strategies across EH Group.

Are you going to measure it in terms of how much has been achieved in each area over the years?Yes, for each of these strategies we have key performance indicators (KPIs) which are planned and reviewed on an annual basis. In addition, we have developed business cases to analyse the capital requirements and returns on investment. We also measure the added value and have a mechanism to review success factors, risks and overall delivery of bene its.

How do you go about engaging your key stakeholder on milestone achievements and plans?The key stakeholders for us are our subsidiaries. Internally we bring all of the CEOs together on a monthly basis to discuss the progress, understand the challenges and sort out solutions. We are also establishing some key baseline igures to assess our employee engagement on an annual basis which is also supported with the execution of an annual group communications plan.

We have also introduced the Knowledge

Sharing Conference as a key stakehold-er engagement activity that brings all our leaders, decision makers, business change managers, programme manag-ers, industry experts, strategic partners and suppliers under one roof to discuss the latest developments and technolo-gies in the utility sector. For this year, we have also introduced a number of work-shops to review the new business im-provements ideas presented by our staff “A kar” which can further develop the current strategic programmes to deliver more or new bene its to our Group.

What are the company’s future plans?We are planning to deliver a major part of the strategic programmes over the course of the next couple of years. We are also working on long term fundraising programme for the Group and assessing the readiness of Muscat Electricity Distribution Company, as the irst distribution company under our network, for privatisation. We have released the request for a proposal recently and hope to have a clear view of the privatisation plans of the distribution companies by 2015.

What do you do for promoting national talent in this sector?The group has more than 90 per cent of “Omanisation”. Our focus here is to make sure that people who work for the group are competent and motivated. We want to sharpen our people’s skills and are looking to recruit new and talented graduates. As a group we invest almost ive per cent of our total payroll on training programmes on an annual basis. What we want to do is to make it more focused and link it with the competency development so that people can realise their full potential. For this purpose we have launched the Utility Centre for Competence Development to support the training and development requirements for the electricity and water sectors in Oman.

Highlights of sus-tainability policy

Direct financial contribution of RO500,000 per annum

Agreement with Injaz Oman and ‘Tauwn’

150 employees to volunteer in ‘Sharakiti’ programme

A contribution of RO100,000 for one academic year - Injaz

RO50,000 for ‘Tauwn’ to conduct an induction programme

‘Wiyakum’ volunteering campaign to encourage public participation in a competition

GROUP LEADERSHIP

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EH Group has identi ied Asset Management as one of its core pillars. What does asset management mean in the electricity sector? Asset Management is a business model that is used by asset intensive

businesses such as the utilities. The model aims to segregate the strategic decisions from operational decisions. The model requires whole life cycle management from planning up to commissioning of the asset and balance

EFFECTIVE ASSET MANAGEMENTASSET MANAGEMENT CONCEPT IS NEW TO OMAN’S ELECTRICITY SECTOR. SUBSTANTIAL CHANGE MANAGEMENT WILL BE REQUIRED TO TRANSFORM THE PEOPLE BEHAVIOUR AND THE WAY TO CONDUCT BUSINESS, SAYS ENG. ALI SAID NASSER AL-HADABI, CEO OF OMAN ELECTRICITY TRANSMISSION COMPANY (OETC)

three main elements in any decision taken related to asset throughout the life cycle, the performance, the cost and the risk.

How important is Asset Management in the electricity sector in Oman? As the Sultanate is investing hundreds of millions of rials every year in electricity assets, there is a need for a systematic process of planning the assets, procuring the assets in addition to operationalising and maintenance of assets. The Asset Management business model is best suited for the electricity business in order to maximise the asset life cycle.

As the Senior Responsible Owner (SRO) of the asset management programme, our role is to push for asset management within the sector. Utilities in the power sector are heavily dependent on assets. Our core activity is dependent on it.

In the Group, we have representatives from each of the companies. They are called Business Change Managers, and are part of our asset management programme board. So far, we have achieved a lot within the sector. Every year we have an external auditing. The next auditing that will take place soon will enable the company to be certi ied. We believe asset management is a long-term strategy to build on

INTERVIEW

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the best practices. It has more to do with changing the culture within the company.

What measures are being taken to ensure that Oman has a robust power network? As part of the Asset Management Strategy, the planning of the network is carried out based on security standards, projects are to be delivered with the best possible quality, operation and maintenance is to be done based on very systematic approach and there is a dedicated team who will measure the performance of individual assets as well the whole network. The risks of the business will be assessed, mitigated and monitored with focus on HSE and service level reliability.

Are you looking at ways in which the asset quality of the sector can be improved in future? There are many ways to improve the quality of service to the customer. The quality of service ranges from implementing redundancy in planning the network, selecting good quality equipments, quality delivering of projects and robust operation and maintenance practices. Under Asset Management model, the performance of equipments and contractors will be monitored with an aim to improve the selection of the assets, as well as the selection of the quality consultant and contractors. The operation and maintenance will be done according to speci ic written procedures to ensure consistent quality. The risks to service level will be identi ied and managed and the performance of the asset will be monitored by a dedicated team.

What are the challenges in maintaining a best in class asset quality/network in Oman? There are many challenges in maintain-

EXCEPTIONAL PERFORMERThe IAM Asset Management Certificate has added value to my career says Eng. Amira Abdul Wahab Al Zadjali, Asset Performance & Information Engineer, Oman Electricity Transmission Company

She is the first Omani lady to get IAM certificate in the Middle East region. Meet Eng. Amira Abdul Wahab Al Zadjali, Asset Performance & Information Engineer, Oman Electricity Transmission Company, who has been working in the electricity sector in the Sultanate for the past 10-years.

She started her career with Ministry of Housing, Electricity and Water (MHEW) in September 2004. Following her transfer to Oman Electricity Transmission Company in May 2005, she worked in the Load dispatch Centre department as operational planning engineer (Operational Planning & Planning of Technical Economic Studies Sections). In 2012, she secured the Asset Performance and Info Engineer position in asset management section (CEO), which was a milestone in her career. When the restructuring process started at OETC in 2013, she was moved to Asset Management and Planning Department.

ing a high level of service quality mainly due to the complexity associated with delivering the projects on time in terms of land and route approval constraints. That is why OETC has recently com-missioned the 2030 Master Plan to be more proactive in planning the projects and delivering them on time. Moreover, the Asset Management concept is new to Oman’s electricity sector wherein substantial change management will be required to transform the people behaviour and the way to conduct busi-ness into the new model.

Yet another challenge is preventing vandalism of properties belonging to utilities. We are working hard to prevent damage to properties through awareness programmes among the public. Systems are in place to prevent vandalism. People’s cooperation and support is the key to prevent vandalism.

Asset management is a key focus of the Knowledge Sharing Conference scheduled to take place in

November. Your comments?OETC as a company will present two papers on asset management at the conference. We will share our views with companies and the rest of the participants. We will continue to put in systems to ensure best practices within the sector.

You are also the CEO of Oman Electricity Transmission Company (OETC). Can you give us a brief on OETC and its performance during the past one year? OETC has achieved important milestones in the Asset Management implementation like establishing the policy, the framework, the strategies and the standard operating procedures. Moreover, OETC has focused on the human factor and conducted Asset Management principles training for about two thirds of the organisation employees. We have also plans to raise the awareness of our consultants and contractors through various communication channels.

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Improving customer service is one of the key pillars for the Electricity Holding Group. How important is customer service for the sector?Customer Service Development is one of the strategic pillars of EH Group Strategy. Customer service is considered as one of the most important strategic direction due to its impact of the future of sector. Firstly, it prepares the sector for privatisation and free competition by leveraging the quality of service delivered to customers which leads to customer loyalty and retention when the market is open for supply licences. Additionally, improved customer service will serve as evidence of the new branding for the electricity distribution companies. It will also build internal capabilities for supply and customer service operations to secure sustainable growth for the electricity distribution companies.

The current strategy covers a wide range of areas working collectively to enhance customer service and customer experience in many integrated aspects at the same time. The strategy had been developed by the distribution and supply companies based on the Omani market conditions with the support of an international specialized irm in customer service development

in the utility sector. . The strategy will be implemented over the coming 3 years in the ive companies providing customer services to the end consumer.

CUSTOMER FOCUSSED SERVICEEH GROUP IS FOCUSED ON BUILDING CUSTOMER SERVICE CULTURE THAT IS BUILT ON OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE AND CUSTOMER UNDERSTANDING SAYS ENG ABDULLAH SAID AL BADRI, CEO OF MUSCAT ELECTRICITY DISTRIBUTION COMPANY (MEDC)

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What measures are being taken by the EH Group to improve customer service in the coming years?EH Group has initiated various measures that will improve customer service. One of these customer centric initiative is the irst customer satisfaction survey that has been conducted as a Group. This survey measures customer satisfaction in a periodic manner. A quantitative and qualitative survey has been conducted during the third quarter of 2014 on areas of improvement, as seen by the customers. Using customer feedback as an input for customer service development provides better understanding of customer needs and allows companies to focus on the areas that are most important to customers.

Another major initiative in the strategy is the implementation of a new billing system. The new system will allow the companies to produce more accurate estimations and clearer bills for the customers. The system will also allow the companies to generate accurate bills even if an actual read is not obtained from the ield. Additionally, the system will allow customer to receive their bills via SMS and email,

once the bills are issued. The system will help both the company and the customer to closely and consistently manage the customer’s credit and keep the customer informed about his pending amounts. This system has been piloted and tested in the distribution and supply companies and will be rolled out during the years of 2015 and 2016.

The customer service strategy also aims at implementing a new meter reading system, which will allow the companies to better manage the meter reading activity and obtain more consistent meter readings from the ield, via better controls on the reading routes and the meter reader’s activity. This initiative will provide the companies with additional lexibility in managing and contracting the meter reading activity in the sector. EH Group is also offering customer several ways of collecting their meter readings like sending their reading via SMS or via the Call Center.

Moreover, the strategy focuses on capturing all customer contacts across all channels using the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) to manage the full cycle of the new

connection and customer complaints. Once collected, the complaints and enquiries across all channels are perused diligently to ensure resolution within expected timeframes, while focusing on irst contact resolution.

All the companies are building their internal staff and organization to deliver the service excellence that is expected from them. The companies are investing in staff and managers training and development in the ields of billing, meter reading, and contract centers using international standards of delivering customer service. Omani customer service staff are trained in Oman and abroad to deliver best of class service to their customers. The companies are focusing more and more on management and strategy training and operational excellence using international best practices and standards.

You are also the CEO of MEDC. Can you give us a brief on MEDC and its performance in the year 2014?MEDC is the irst company in Oman and the region to use the prepaid electricity service. The pre-paid electricity meter service SABIQ has received good response so far. The initiative is in line with MEDC’s efforts to make use of new technologies that will help in providing better services to customers. Using the prepaid meter, customers get full control over electricity consumption.

Regarding the payment of electricity bills, MEDC customers can pay their electricity bills through Omantel payment machines. From 2015, customers can pay through MEDC outlets at malls. This initiative is among a raft of customer-focused measures in various stages of planning and implementation by the distribution companies.

INTERVIEW

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Can you give us a brief about Electricity Holding Group’s Health & Safety Improvement Programme?EH Group is committed to providing and maintaining a healthy and safe working environment for EH Group employees and contractors. Employees are the most important assets and we therefore aim not only to prevent their injury and ill health, but also to positively promote their good health and well being. Safety will be at the heart of everything we think, say and do. The programme has been set up to work at two levels. The Group companies are undertaking extensive work to develop their H&S management systems that improve the working environment, reduce the accident/incident rate within the group and comply with relevant legislation. Additionally, EH Group is enhancing its safety leadership role from a shareholder perspective. It has developed a group policy and plan. The group level strategy is focusing on 3 overarching themes-Safety

SAFE WORKING ENVIRONMENTSAFETY WILL BE AT THE HEART OF EVERYTHING WE THINK, SAY AND DO, SAYS SALEH HAMOOD AL RASHDI, VICE PRESIDENT GENERATION, ELECTRICITY HOLDING GROUP

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leadership, Worker Competence and Employee Engagement and Empowerment.

The initial key focus areas include establishing common reporting and incident investigation, conducting operational risk assessments to prioritise improvement standards, training competence and assessment standards, safety leadership training, auditing compliance with the group policy, safety gap analysis of contractor systems pre tender award and post tender follow up.

What are the critical success factors for world-class safety performance? EH Group is adopting tried and proven methods that have led to world class safety performance in the region and internationally. These include commitment/leadership from the top, systematic checking of employee competence, challenge of unsafe acts and conditions, being a listening and learning organisation, having in place

a reporting culture including leading and proactive measures.

How will the Group Health & Safety look like in 3- 5 years time?Management will have demonstrated their commitment to improving safety. Safety leadership at all levels will be improved. Further, there will be increased visibility of management in the workplace, improved employee engagement on safety issues, managers and supervisors will react promptly to rectify unsafe conditions. Employees at all levels in the organisation will understand their obligations, worker competence levels will be enhanced. Additionally, the reduction in the severity and potential severity of accidents and incidents, the critical operational practices and the pro ile of Health & Safety will be increased end to end across the businesses which will lead to improved stakeholder relationships. But most importantly, people go home safe at the end of the working day.

What are the major health and safety challenges in the electricity sector? The electricity sector in Oman has recorded exceptionally high growth by international standards and this results in record levels of construction and maintenance activity.

Electricity is inherently dangerous and requires the application of proper design, equipment, procedures and well trained staff to mitigate the risks involved. Unlike some other countries, the majority of the contractor workforce is more transitory requiring ongoing training and competency development programmes. Oman currently lacks a national technical training and assessment centre and one of the aims of the improvement program is to establish this facility. Finally, safety is a journey with no destination and continual improvement is required in order to achieve the safe working environment within the EH Group.

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Can you share with us the highlights of Electricity Holding Group’s communications strategy?The most important achievement is the inauguration of the Group Communications and Sustainability Department which is responsible for delivery of EH Group’s communication strategy pillar. Yet another achievement is the launch of the irst group conference and the ‘sharing’ brand. The Communication Team was responsible for coordinating more than 40 research papers and arranged for 26 internal staff speakers to present their papers at the ‘Knowledge Sharing Conference’ in addition to coordinating the registration of more than 350 staff to participate in the conference. As part of the Group’s vision to become the ‘leading utility services provider in Oman’, EH Group launched its Sustainability Policy and Plan with three main themes- Social, Environmental and Economic.

How important is the communications strategy for the electricity sector?Communication should support the Group in achieving its goals

ENHANCING STAKEHOLDER RELATIONSTHE COMMUNICATION STRATEGY LAYS SPECIAL EMPHASIS ON TRANSFORMING THE ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE, HARMONISING POLICIES, AND ENABLING MORE STREAMLINED EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT SAYS ENG. ZAHER ABDULLAH AL ABRI, CEO OF MAZOON ELECTRICITY COMPANY AND SENIOR RESPONSIBLE OWNER-COMMUNICATIONS.

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as described in its mission and strategy. The Electricity Holding Group is engaged in the generation, transmission, power and water, procurement, supply and distribution of electricity and related water desalination across the Sultanate, and it is our responsibility to ensure strategic communication between subsidiary companies, which could execute effective and positive stakeholder relations.

How have the Group companies fared in implementing the communications strategy?In our communication strategy, we have given special emphasis on trans-forming our organisational culture, harmonising our policies, and enabling more streamlined employee engage-ment to ensure the successful imple-mentation of our Group Business Plan.

Can you elaborate on communication tools used to reach out to the Stakeholders? The sustainability and success of the Group’s strategy is highly dependent on how it is viewed by key stakeholders. The effective management of the sustainability,

corporate communications, media relations and the stakeholder engagement functions forms a critical link for building maintaining and protecting the EHGroup reputation. It is therefore critical that a message is transmitted in a coherent, credible and ethical manner. To ensure the establishment of best practices communication strategy and policy for EHC and group of companies, employee engagement, media/social media engagement, branding, advertising, marketing and sustainability activities need to be coordinated under the guidance of the Group Communications and Sustainability Department to oversee all the group initiatives, provide direction and resources.

What are the major communication challenges in the electricity sector? What systems are in place to improve it?EHC has 11 subsidiaries established to undertake generation and related water services, procurement, distribution and utility training services, transmission supply and distribution of electricity. This creates a natural need for attractive coordination

between subsidiary companies to share knowledge and best practice and for the holding company to promote strategic direction to support the vision. The Communication Programme is required to execute key business objectives such as providing a consistent approach for Communication within the Group and externally, developing a Communication Policy and Framework, and establishing a road map and action plan for the implementation of training, monitoring process and best practice methods

Has the Group planned new initiatives to achieve the objectives of the communications strategy?The Communications Strategy will be carrying out the projects to ensure the achievement of the objectives such as conducting an Employee Engagement Survey to assure the level of staff engagement in strategy related projects, re-branding the identity of the whole group to re lect our common vision and strategy for future growth and starting IT – Communications integration solutions to support our values and execution of all strategic and group initiatives.

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Hisham Abdullah Salim AL-Riyami, Strategic Planning & Studies Section Head, OETC.

Topic: Development of Grid Master Plan of Oman (2014-2030)

Hisham received BSc. ENG in Power Systems and Energy from College of Engineering, Sultan Qaboos University (SQU). He has published around 25 technical papers, and is a member of the GCC Regional Committee for High Voltage Electric Systems from 2010.

Badar Ali Obaid Al WashahiPlanning Engineer, MJECO

Topic: Developing New Electricity Distribution Load Forcasting

Badar holds a Bachelor’s in Electrical Engineering, and is a planning engineer with four years:of experience.

Ahmed Abdullah Gharib Al-Rahbi, Asset Performance Management Head Section, OETC

Topic: The New Process of Projects Gates for Justifying and Delivering Projects within OETCAhmed holds a Bachelor of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Power Engineering from College of Engineering at Sultan Qaboos University and has over 10 years of expereince in the industry.

Fayza SadikSenior Manager Regretory and Coorporate Planning, MJECO

Topic: Benchmarking is a tool for continuous improvement

Azimuddin Munshi, Senior Manager, Strategy and Planning, EHC

Topic: Benchmarking is a tool for continuous improvement

Azimuddin holds a Bechelor of Engineereing, MBA, PMP (Progect Management Professional), PRINCE2 Project Management & MSP Practitioner Program Mnagement. He has delivered a lecture on Business Intelligence and Data Warehousing, to Management Programme undergraduate students at Zayed University, in April 2003.

Rashid Mohammed Al Riyami, HSE, MJECOTopic: MJEC Near Miss Reporting Incentive Scheme

Awadh Salem Al Yaqoubi, HSE, MJECO

Topic: MJEC Good HSSE practices that need implementation in the sector

Said Ahmed Al Mashani, HSSE Officer, DPC

Topic: Safety Culture (Eight Core Elements)

Said has over 11 years of expereince across the industry. He has participated in safety culture programme of the DPC through delivering HSE various presentations and trained the staff and contractors for the intlex HSE software system on

how to use and the benefits of the system

KSC 2014 SPEAKERS

EHC: Electricity Holding Company; MZEC: Mazoon Electricity Company; DPC: Dhofar Power Company; WAJPCO: Wadi Al Jizzi Power Company

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Ahmed Said Ali Al Sadooni, Manager- Billing, Collection & Data, DPC

Topics: Self Meter Reading (SMR) and System Loss

Ahmed holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Adinistartion from Muttah University, Jordan; ACCA qualified Part Iⅈ MBA International from Unversity of Portsmouth, UK. He has done various Professtional Courses from London School of Business and Finance: Sage Line 50, Intermidate Financial Moudling, Financial Markets, Trading & Analysis, Risk& Financial Management.

Juma Hussain Juma Al Balushi, Communication Officer, EHC

Topic: EH Group Customer Awareness Campaign

Juma is a Certified Aviation Internal Auditor with over 18 years of professional expereince. He was involved in Port Check Audit in Oman Air System and in developing HR system related to Customer Service in Oman Air

Susan Mubarak Al Shahri, Human Resources Specialist, DPC

Topic: The Neglected Retention Strategy: Orientation Programmes

Susan has over eight years’ experience in the field of human resources. She holds a Bachelor’s in Management and a Master’s in Organis ational Leadership from the University of Glasgow in Scotland. She is also a McGill University fellow and a writer. Susan is passionate about women’s issues and the development of human resources practices in the Dhofar region.

Farook Ahmed Shakir, Head section of Business continuity and Risk Management, RAECOTopic: Human Resource and Business Continuity

Farook has over 31 years of industry expereince in Oman. He is an M.B.A from Osmania University, India; Certified Planner & Strategist; Certified Business Continuity Professional and Certified in Contract Risk Management

Dr Juma Said Al Obeidani, Quality, Health, Safety, Security & Environment Manager, MEDC

Topic: Omanuna Amana

Juma holds PhD & Master’s Degree from USA, Colorado State University; and is NEBOSH Certified, Lead auditor for OHSAS 18001, ISO 14001, & ISO 9001. He has over 24 years of professional experience

Abdullah Rashid Al Sawafi, OPWP

Topic: Historical Carbon Footprint in Electricity Sector

Yusra Harub Amer Al Maskari, Customer Relation Management Administrator, MZEC

Topic: Hawwa Mazoon

Yusra holds a Diploma in Information Technology and has over 12 years of industry expereince

Saleh Rashid Khalfan Al Talei, Financial Controller (Acting), EHC

Topic: Procure to Pay

Saleh has over 13 years of industry expereince. He has a Bachelor of Science (Commerce and Economics). He led the Account Receivable module in first ERP implementation in PASE. it was the first module run successfully.

Khamis Mohammed Al-Farsi, Procurement Head Section, WAJPCO

Topic: Procure to Pay

He holds a Master of Business Administration, Bachelor’s in Finance and Dimloma in Accounting; and has over 12 years of professional expereince.

OETC: Oman Electricity Transmission Company; MJECO: Majan Electricity Company; RAECO: Rural Areas Electricity Company; MEDC: Muscat Electricity Distribution Company; OPWP: Oman Power and Water Procurement Co

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Jim Matthewman, Company Director, Towers Watson

Topic: Integrated Talent Management

Jim has 28 years’ experience in consulting and has advised over 2,300 organisations in more than 40 countries. He specializes in strategic alignment, organisation design and integrated people strategies, strategic workforce planning, talent management, performance excellence and HR effectiveness. Jim has been working in the Middle East for the past six years.

Mohammed Masoud Al-Kharusi, Chairman, Intersearch in Oman operating under Talent Development LLC

Topic: MB Holding Business Case & HR

Mohammed has over 40 years of experience in the field of IT, HR and general management. He is very passionate about HR transformation and building people capabilities so as to support the business. He was involved in major change projects

in Shell, PDO, ENOC and MB Holding group of companies. Mohammed has a BSc, DIS in Industrial Mathematics from Loughborough University of Technology, UK and an MSc in Numerical & Functional Analysis from Brunel University, UK.

Stuart Wigley, Business Leader for Data, Surveys, Technology and HR Service Delivery in the Middle East, Towers Watson

Topic: HR Technology Consultant of Towers Watson

Stuart joined Towers Watson (then Towers Perrin) almost 10 years ago and since that time has worked in a wide range of HR Technology areas, ranging from the design and product management of HR tools, through to project management and delivery of solutions to Towers Watson’s clients. Stuart is now responsible for the development of Towers Watson’s HR technology presence in the Middle East.

Faisal Al Shanfari, GM Corporate Affairs, Customer Services, Human Resources, Administration, HSSE & Procurement

Topic: Successful Rebranding

Faisal is accountable to Lead, Plan and Manage the strategic functions of Omanoil Marketing Company’s Corporate Affairs, HR, Admin, Customer Services, HSSE and Procurement.

Liam Mulholland, Director of Customer Service, Northern Ireland Water

Topic: Customer Service Soul Liam has spent the last seven years working in various roles at NI Water including as Director of Transformation and Delivery.He has a background in the telecoms and cable industries having worked for Virgin Media, NTL and Cabletel previously. His current role includes responsibility for customer contacts and connections through to metering, billing revenue and collections, as well as leading the customer transformation programme.

John Martin Theunissen, Manager Network Modernisation, AusNet Services

Topic: Data Analytics Transform Electricity Network Asset Management Practices

John presently leads network modernisation initiatives within AusNet Services. An electrical engineer by training, John has held numerous technical management roles within AusNet Services and its predecessor companies over the last 19 years,

mainly in the protection, control and communication areas.

Peter McCormick, Health & Safety Director and MD, Vector Power Solutions Limited and PMAC Consulting Services Limited.

Topic: Developing Sustainable Improvements in HSE Performance Within The International Electricity

Peter was the former Director of Group Health, Safety and Environment at Northern Powergrid a U.K. Distribution Network Operator and a subsidiary company of Berkshire Hathaway Energy. In this role Peter delivered significant improvements in Health & Safety performance and had responsibility for setting Health & Safety direction for the BHE Global group of companies. Peter leads the UK Electricity Industry Powering Improvement Programme at the Energy Networks Association.

Amer Al Sinani, ICV Programme Management Office, Strategy Lead, Minsitry of Oil and Gas

Topic: In Country Value

Amer is the In Country Value (ICV) Delivery Lead at Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) with responsibility for delivering In Country Value within PDO’s Supply Chain Activities, mainly through contracting and procurement.Amer has occupied many

various roles within PDO in the Supply Chain, Including Procurement and Inventory Lead, Contracting Lead, Head of Business Development and many other roles before taking a completely new role in ICV.

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Until 2004, Oman’s electricity generation, transmission and distribution were directly handled by the Ministry of Housing, Electricity and Water. But given the rising demand for power and water, the government initiated plans to privatise the sector with a view to modernise facilities, ensure improved customer service and attract private sector inancing.

In May 2005, the Sector Law came into force providing a new framework for the electricity and water infrastructure sector which led to the formation of Electricity Holding Company (EHC) along with eight group of companies, that include two power generation companies (Wad Al Jizzi Power Company SAOC and Al Ghubrah Power and Desalination Company SAOC); one transmission company (Oman Electricity Transmission Company SAOC); four distribution/supply companies (Mazoon Electricity Company SAOC, Majan Electricity Company SAOC, Rural Electricity Power Company SAOC, and Muscat Electricity Distribution Company SAOC); and a procurement company (Oman Power and Water Procurement Company SAOC).

In 2009, EHC acquired majority shareholding of 53.9 per cent in Dhofar Power Company (DPC), which owns and operates the vertically

integrated Salalah Power System. The deals marked a key step in the government’s efforts to explore options for the restructuring of its concession agreement with DPC, agreed back in 2001, and to bring it in line with the market structure and regulatory framework established by the 2004 Sector Law. Further to this agreement, EHC built up stake in DPC and now owns 98.74 per cent of the equity and 100 per cent of DGC.

The Holding CompanyThe Electricity Holding Company (EHC) is a closed Omani joint stock company registered under the Commercial Companies Law of Oman on October 19, 2002. The establishment and operations of the company are governed by the provisions of the Law for the Regulation and Privatisation of the Electricity and Related Water Sector (the Sector Law) promulgated by Royal Decree 78/2004, amended by Royal Decree 59/2009 and the last amended by Royal Decree 47/2013.

The company is a 100 per cent government-owned entity having an authorised, issued and paid-up capital of 2,000,000 shares of RO 1 per share. The shares are fully owned by the Ministry of Finance (MOF). The principal activities of the company comprise the management of government investments, and

the privatisation of the sector in the Sultanate and provision of certain central services to its subsidiary companies. As a strategic leader, EHC plays an important role setting direction and establishing group policies.

Electricity Sector Regulators Regulated activities include generation, transmission, distribution, export, import or supply of electricity; generation of electricity combined with water desalination; generation of electricity co-located with water desalination; central dispatching; development and/or operation of international interconnections; and the activities of the Oman Power and Water Procurement Company.

In 2007, The Public Authority for Electricity and Water (PAEW) was formed following the Royal Decree No. (92/2007), under the requisites of two royal decrees, nos. (58/2009) and (59/2009) issued on October 11, 2009. PAEW is the policy maker for both water and electricity services in Oman. In addition to this, PAEW is also a direct water service provider, responsible for transmission, distribution and supply of drinking water to all customer in Oman except for Salalah. The Authority for Electricity Regulation (AER), Oman has had full responsibility for the regulation of the electricity and related

FACT SHEETA LOOK AT THE DEVELOPMENT AND GROWTH OF ELECTRICITY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION, DISTRIBUTION AND SUPPLY IN OMAN

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water sector since May 2005.

PrivatisationHaving successfully privatised power generation, the sector is now moving ahead with plans to privatise the electricity distribution segment. The Omani government has directed EHC to oversee the study of privatisation of MEDC. The government has previously attempted to commence privatisation of OETC in 2008, however, these plans were postponed due to the global inancial crisis during that time.

GenerationCurrently there are 12 power plants under operation in different parts of the country, including two contracted power generation facilities which are part of the Salalah System. The plants are situated in Ghubrah, Rusail, Wadi Jizzi, Manah, Al Kamil, Sohar (Sohar I & Sohar II) and Barka (Barka I, Barka II, Barka III). The contracted plants in Salalah are Raysut New Power Station (NPS), located in Raysut and operated by its owner Dhofar Generation Company (DGC), under a PPA with OPWP; and Salalah IWPP, located in Taqa and operated by Sembcorp Salalah Power and Water Company, under a PWPA with OPWP.

Transmission Oman’s electricity sector comprises three separate market segments - the Main Interconnected System (MIS) in

north Oman, the rural systems, and the Salalah Power System.

The Oman Electricity Transmission Company (OETC) is the monopoly provider of transmission services to the Main Interconnected System (MIS), which accounts for about 90 per cent of the total electricity supplied in the country. The MIS serves around half a million customers. It covers the Governorates of Muscat and Buraimi and most of the Batinah, Sharqiyah, Dhahirah and Dhofar regions. OETC owns and operates the 220 kV and 132 kV interconnected transmission system in the north of Oman.

The Rural Areas Electricity Company SAOC (RAECo) has the license to generate, transmit, distribute and supply electricity to customers in its authorised area, where the transmission network in not present. The electricity supplied to most of RAECo’s customers is generated at diesel-based facilities, though for some rural systems RAECo purchases electricity from Petroleum Development Oman (PDO).

Distribution and supply Electricity distribution is an engineering function. The distribution businesses are for the development, maintenance and operation of the distribution networks and for providing connections to those networks. Customers

undertake certain aspects of connection related work themselves or utilise accredited contractors to undertake such work on their behalf.

Each distribution business is responsible for dealing with customer enquiries about all distribution related matters, including those concerning the security and performance of the distribution systems.

Electricity supply is essentially a trading activity. The supply businesses purchases bulk supplies of electricity from the OPWP for sale to customers and arrange for electricity to be transported to customer premises across the transmission and distribution networks. The supply businesses is also responsible for reading customer meters, customer billing and account collection and for maintaining customer records.

Training and Development In order to bridge the gap between the existing capabilities of its workforce and the required capabilities, EH Group has partnered with Veolia to set up Utility Centre for Competency Development (UCCD), a private company co-owned by both of them. EH Group and Veolia share a common vision and ambition in the ield of competences management and are committed to the career development of Omanis in the sector of utilities.

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EHG EVENTS

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