KAHRAMAA President: Demand on Electricity Rising in Arab World

Doha, January 07 (QNA) - The 4th General Conference of Arab Union of Electricity is convened amid rising electricity demand in the Arab world and in view of the ongoing efforts to increase production capacity, particularly in the GCC and other Arab countries, said Essa bin Hilal Al Kuwari, President of Qatar General Electricity & Water Corporation (KAHRAMAA), and the conference president. In remarks to the opening session of the conference, which kicked off on Monday evening, Al Kuwari said that the conference came at a time when there is a need to meet the rapid growth of economic sectors as well as the growing interest in finding alternative energy sources and renewable energy. He underlined that priority must be given to programs aimed at rationalizing electricity consumption, improving the efficiency of generation, transmission and distribution, and investing in the development of renewable energy sources in the region, pointing to the necessity of developing rules and principles for the adoption of all new green and sustainable energy technologies in order to sustain the natural resources. Al Kuwari revealed that the recent initiative by KAHRAMAA in this area was preparation to announce a project to produce electricity from renewable energy using solar energy to generate 200 megawatts of electricity in phases. He said the organizing committee of the conference has been keen to bring decision makers and high profile Arab experts from the region's electricity and energy sector to address the conference. The conference, the seminar and the accompanying exhibition enjoy attendance from the public and private sectors in the Arab world and other countries led by Arab electricity ministers, and including leading global manufacturers of electrical solutions and smart grids; experts and researchers in the electricity sector, renewable energy and smart grids, and other parties involved and interested in the above areas. (QNA)