Power demand expected to grow 9.5% annually

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Power suppliers are working on projects that will almost double the amount of power supplied to countries in the UAE by 2015 – but it may still not be enough to satisfy demand.

The regional electricity network that services four GCC countries including Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia says that an additional 55,000MW of power will be produced in 2015. The first phase of the combined transnational power grid was completed in the second half of 2009, and the UAE could be added to the grid this year.

Regional capacity stands at 75,000MW and it’s anticipated that power demand in the region will grow 9.5% annually, requiring more electricity and more energy projects to be completed to cope. New projects will add 44% more power to the region by 2015, but some experts believe that this may still not be enough.

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The region’s future power needs will be the subject of the GCC Power 2010, the 8th Regional Conference for National Committees of CIGRE (the International Council on Large Electric Systems) in the Arab Countries and the 15th Exhibition for Electrical Equipment, held from October 18 to 20, 2010 at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Doha, Qatar.

The GCC Power 2010 Conference will discuss development, technologies and techniques in System Operation and Control, System Planning, Development and Technical Studies, Substations, Power Transformers and Reactors, Switchgear and HV Equipment, Transmission Lines and Cables, HVDC and Power Electronics, and Emerging Technologies. The accompanying exhibition will welcome trade visitors from the GCC, Europe and the US.

Last year’s edition gathered around 500 international delegates to discuss more than 50 papers on electricity and energy. GCC Power 2010 is owned by CIGRE, the GCC regional committee for large electricity systems.

Just this week, Iraq's electricity minister Karim Wahid al-Hasan resigned after deadly demonstrations in the southern city of Basra on Sunday over strict power rationings turned violent, and two people died.