Qatar Demand for Electricity Increased by 13 per cent, Water by 9 per cent in 2012 - Minister

Doha, February 04 (QNA) -HE the Minister of Energy and Industry Dr. Mohammed bin Saleh Al Sada has underlined that the demand for electric power in the State of Qatar in 2012 rose to 13 per cent, while water consumption increased by 9 per cent during the same year. Speaking at the opening session of the Conference and Exhibition of Electricity and Water 2013 this evening, HE Dr. Al Sada said that these cumulative rates of increase is a real challenge for the GCC countries in the field of sustainable conservation of energy and water supplies for the rapid growth of their economies. He added that Qatar General Electricity and Water ( Kahramaa) as recognizes that Qatar's economy is one of the fastest developing economies in the world, has developed short, medium and long term strategic plans in order to ensure sustainable supply of electricity and water to achieve the Qatar National Vision 2030. He explained that these plans are based on five pillars including keeping pace with the strategic plans of the Qatar National Vision 2030, transferring networks to smart ones , use of technology and the development of advanced plans for the production of electricity and water in order to meet future demand and adoption of pure and sustainable electricity and water production to improve efficiency and consumption policies and increase renewable energy as well as the introduction of new technology. In this regard, HE the Minister Dr. Al Sada referred to the rationalization (TARSHEED) campaign launched by Kahramaa last year aimed at reducing consumption in the State of Qatar by 20 per cent for electricity and 35 per cent for the water. HE Dr. Al Sada further said that today , 1.4 billion people still do not have access to modern energy, while 3 billion rely on traditional biomass and coal as their main fuel sources. Under the leadership of the United Nations - a coordinating group of 20 UN agencies - has undertaken a new global initiative , the "Sustainable Energy for All' . This conference supports the expectations of Qatar's development of the power and water industries, he said noting that sustainable development of these industries , while protection the environment is the ethos of our national development , embedded in our National Vision 2030 , wisely guided by the visionary leadership of HH the Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani , HE Dr. Al Sade added. HE the Minister underlined that Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation - Kahramaa has embarked on its first renewable energy project which will be carried out in two phases . The first phase is to start this year with a pilot project to produce 5-10 Mw from Solar Energy , while the second phase aims to increase the capacity from the solar system to 200MW by year 2020, employing the un used spaces of Kahramaa grid and water stations, HE the Minister added. HE the Minister Dr. Al Sada emphasized on some key factors which needs to be addressed in order to meet the future challenges of power and water sectors in the region including introduction of the latest and smart technologies in conventional power and water industries, development of large scale renewable energy generation supported by interconnected transmission capability between countries in the region, development of reliable framework through appropriate feed-in laws for renewable energy generation using instruments like Feed-In Tariff and other support mechanism , and finally maximizing the potential and opening up business opportunities through joint cooperation between public and private sectors. HE Dr. Al Sada underlined (END)