The National Electricity and Gas Corp. has named Mohamed Arkab as its new president and CEO amid electricity controversy.
Arkab previously served as the head of the Electricity and Gas Engineering Co., which was a subsidiary of Sonelgaz. He is replacing Tahar Djouan, who has been the CEO of Sonelgaz since May 28.
Arkab was given the position by Minister of Energy Mustapha Guitouni, who also once served as the CEO of Sonelgaz. Arkab’s new position will entail him dealing with a sector “wedged between economic rationality and a social role.” His role may be challenging, since he is coming after allegations that Sonelgaz is charging dishonest prices.
According to El Watan, Guitouni is concerned about the “waste” of electricity that harms the Treasury, which happens because of the annual disbursement of subsidies to support energy prices.
“Last July, we reached a peak power consumption of 13,900 megawatts and there was virtually nothing left in the bag,” Guitouni said. “Sonelgaz managed to manage the situation and avoided the use of load shedding. It has managed to produce an additional 1,000 megawatts under very difficult conditions to reach 14,000 megawatts against 13,000 megawatts in 2016.”
