Feasibility Studies, Network Engineering & Investment Programs

NEEDS provides consultancy services to utilities and private companies by performing technical and financial studies in the field of power engineering. Through its highly specialized team and experience in the regional market, NEEDS continues to play a leading role in the fields of energy supply (Independent Power Production), transmission and distribution systems, and factory feasibility studies.

NEEDS is Co-Developer of the Lebanese Electricity Policy Paper as approved by the Lebanese Government on June 21, 2010: A 4.5 Billion Dollars Project for the Power Sector recovery and Development (2010). This policy paper constitutes a global framework for the electric energy sector in Lebanon, and includes ten strategic initiatives that are integrated and correlated to cover the sector’s infrastructure, supply/demand, and the legal aspects.

The initiatives are developed into identified plans of action with required budget, financing schemes, and timeframe. The elimination/delay of any initiative and action will lead to losing the policy objective of rescuing the power sector from the current drastic situation to a new sustainable, reliable, and efficient delivery of electricity. A transitional rescue period of 3 - 4 years is required to achieve the goals of this policy.

NEEDS was involved in the Reengineering of Tabouk Infrastructure study – a Centralized Power Supply System for TADCO in Saudi Arabia (2003-2004). TADCO, Tabouk Agricultural and Development Company in KSA, was seeking a cost effective power project in generation and distribution. The objective is to alleviate overhead of electricity in their well-developed agriculture company. The study aimed at building a modern central, diesel power electrification system to replace the several existent and small de-centralized power supply systems. The proposed system advised a capacity of 43.2 MW that supplies power at 20KV into the local area network with the set of medium and low voltage equipment and auxiliaries.

NEEDS have executed a pre-feasibility study to determine the technical and financial viability of constructing gas fired plant at one of the sites identified by AVRO within Moldova in year 2000. This study came in view of the Privatization of the Generation and Transmission system in Moldova, AVRO, where a privately owned Moldovian company, has identified an investment opportunity, which would serve to utilize and promote the available resources and infrastructure in introducing new generation capacity to the country. Gas fired combined cycle plants was considered for application at the proposed plant where these plants produce electricity at a lower cost than any other fuel fired generating technology. Combined cycles also have the lowest environmental impact of all fossil-fueled generating technologies. Two plant design capacities were considered, one at the lower end of the suitable size range and the other at the upper end. Four sites were investigated with a view to ascertaining their relative suitability for the siting of a gas fired combined cycle plant.

NEEDS is the Co-Developer of Rehabilitation Programs and Rescue Programs for the Lebanese Power Sector (1989-1992). The main objective consists in highlighting the complex procedure of designing a restructuring process which was tailored to the specific challenges in Lebanese Electric Power System (LEPS) without ignoring the socio-economic development of Lebanon. For this purpose, the basis for each of the design stages delivered by assessing first of all the performance of LEPS, followed by the discussion of some restructuring models and scenarios. Furthermore, some recommendations were given how to meet the high requirements at a successful restructuring. As any restructuring process faces reluctance and resistance of involved players, who can impede the realization of restructuring, the study gave in this context special emphasis to Change/ Transitional Management as one of the most important conditions for the implementation of the designed restructuring process.