Monday 21 / September / 2026
On a summer evening in Muscat, thousands of cars begin their journeys home. Among them is a growing number of electric vehicles that will soon be plugged into Oman’s expanding charging network.
More than 5,800 electric vehicles were recorded in the country by the end of the first quarter of 2026, according to the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology (MTCIT). The ministry is working towards a network of 350 charging points by 2027.
That network is already taking shape. EVO Oman has deployed more than 160 charging points across the Sultanate, while Porsche Centre Oman and Shell Oman are expanding high-performance charging infrastructure. MTCIT has also introduced Shahin, a unified national platform that allows drivers to locate charging stations and check their availability and operating status.
As more electric cars join Oman’s roads, however, another question becomes important: when should they charge?
For an individual driver, the answer may be simple: plug in when you get home. For the electricity system, thousands of drivers making the same decision at roughly the same time create a different problem.
Not every car needs to charge immediately. A vehicle with plenty of battery capacity and a driver leaving at 8 am could wait, while another car needed for an early trip could be prioritised. Software could make these decisions automatically, taking into account battery levels, driving schedules and electricity demand elsewhere on the network.
Oman’s growing investment in renewable energy adds another dimension. Solar generation is strongest during daylight hours, while much vehicle charging could take place later in the day. Coordinating charging with renewable generation could help make better use of clean electricity when it is most readily available.
Some of the technology for this connected charging ecosystem is already arriving. EVO Oman and Hyundai Kefico have signed an agreement to introduce and localise ultra-fast charging technologies with capacities of up to 240 kilowatts. Shahin, meanwhile, provides a national digital layer connecting drivers with charging infrastructure.
The next step is connecting the information behind these systems.
Instead of every vehicle charging the moment it is plugged in, AI could learn how drivers use their cars and anticipate when they will actually need them. Combined with forecasts of solar generation and electricity demand, that information could allow charging to shift towards times when the grid has greater capacity or renewable power is more readily available.
Over time, the relationship could become even more flexible. With vehicle-to-grid technology, a parked electric car could potentially send some of its stored energy back to the grid when demand rises, before recharging later. A car sitting outside a home in Al Khoudh or at a workplace in Madinat Al Irfan would no longer simply be waiting to be driven; it could become a small, temporary battery within Oman’s electricity system.
For Oman, this makes electric mobility more than a transport question. As EVs, chargers and renewable generation become increasingly connected, software can help coordinate them as parts of the same system. The real opportunity lies in making these vehicles part of a more connected, intelligent and responsive energy system.
* The writer is a student of British School Muscat and the views expressed are personal
