So, what's the deal?

by Brian Stirling Thursday, November 05, 2015 2 comments

After so much thinking and planning and preparing I'm finally on my way to Saudi Arabia to work for MHI as Thermal Generation Specialist. 

MHI is a wholly owned subsidiary of the company I've been working for since 1987, the crown owned power utility Manitoba Hydro. I started out as an Operator at the tender age of 23 and in the 28 yrs since then I've been driving to the same great place of work every day. 

 MH is basically a hydraulic power utility with thermal generation only comprising about 10% of our total power production. There's not a lot of staff turnover in thermal generation and so it can be said that I've also been working with many of the same people since 1987. So as excited as I am at this opportunity I'm also sad to leaving so many great people and good friends. 

 MHI does a lot of work worldwide and many in Manitoba are unaware. That's not surprising because even in Manitoba Hydro many are unaware! Because of the expansive Manitoba geography MH became a world leader in innovative high voltage DC conversion and transmission. I suspect that this early expertise led to a realization that we're actually good at a lot of things and we created MHI to help market that expertise to the rest of the world. I'd say we're doing a pretty good job of that because we are currently in 33 countries world wide including Mozambique, Nigeria, Tajikistan, Uganda, Japan, Caribbean, and of course Saudi Arabia. 

 In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) specifically we actually have quite a presence with dozens of staff here. Saudi Arabia is obviously known for its oil reserves and the resultant wealth but the discovery and export of oil is only a relatively recent event. Oil was only discovered in the late 1930's and became a significant export during the 1970's. 

As rich as the country may be today it is growing quickly and trying to adapt to that change. Their power system is example of that growth and development and MHI plays a part in contributing to it. We've been working in the KSA since about 2010, helping the Saudi Electric Company manage the development of a robust national high voltage electrical system. The KSA does not have a wealth of large flowing rivers like Manitoba has so they're largely thermal, burning oil and gas. And that makes me, a thermal generation guy, useful to MHI. 

 The Saudi Electric Company is 10 times as large as MH and growing remarkably fast, adding an amount equal to Manitoba's total generation every year! It's an exciting evolution to be a part of and I'm thankful of the opportunity!