GCC power generation to rise 44% by 2013

The Gulf Cooperation Council's (GCC) power generation capacity is expected to grow by 44 per cent to surpass 1,609 megawatt hours by 2013, organisers of a power exhibition have said.

According to them, member countries are consolidating their energy capabilities, with Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait completing the first phase of a joint power grid for the region last July of 2009.

Although the GCC’s current installed power capacity is at around 75,000 megawatts (Mw), the annual 9.5 per cent growth in demand will require more than 55,000 Mw of additional power through 2015, Fadi Kayrouz, Project Manager of GCC Power at Riyadh Exhibition Company, said.

"GCC countries are expected to fund as much as 187.5 billion riyals in power projects between now and 2015. They will need to acquire detailed information on the technological, ecological, logistical, economic and regulatory implications of each of these critical investments to ensure power needs are met within the next decade," Kayrouz said.

The upcoming GCC Power 2009 Conference and Exhibition – to be held from October 19-21 in Riyadh – will gather regional and global experts, authorities and investors to discuss the latest trends, challenges and strategies affecting the region’s power supply amidst rapid economic and population growth.

Saudi Arabia, in particular, has emerged as the fastest growing consumer of energy in the GCC and rest of the Middle East, with demand for electric utilities expected to increase at an average of 5 to 7 per cent annually.