CEO of GCC Interconnection Authority: GCC Countries' Energy Trade Exchange is Promising, Growing 20% Per Year

Doha, March 22 (QNA) - Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of GCC Interconnection Authority (GCCIA) Engineer Ahmed Al Ibrahim stated that the trade exchange of energy through the Gulf electrical interconnection network is promising and is growing at a rate of 15-20 percent annually. It has achieved economic savings for the GCC countries that exceeded USD 3 billion since the full operation of the Gulf Electricity Interconnection Project in 2009 until now, he added. In an exclusive statement on the sidelines of the authority's participation in the 7th General Conference of the Arab Union of Electricity, Al Ibrahim told Qatar News Agency (QNA) that savings amounted to USD 192 million last year, up from USD 182 million in 2020. He added that these savings came as a result of reducing operating and maintenance expenses, costs in terms of energy management and carbon emissions, and the costs of establishing fiber-optic networks. He explained that the mutual energy to support and stabilize the Gulf electricity market has grown steadily over the past 11 years, while the growth of electric energy trade between the Gulf countries has increased since 2016 through initiatives adopted by the authority to develop the Gulf energy market, which allowed these great economic savings for the GCC countries - exceeding the capital and operational costs of the linkage project. He affirmed that the authority is currently working on adding platforms that will provide energy offers and learn more about the available opportunities to increase the volume of benefit from the commercial advantages of this interconnection and expand it internally and externally through the energy markets of neighboring countries, adding that one of the advantages of this connection is the exploitation of optical fibers in communications, which provided the Gulf telecommunications companies with infrastructure in this field. He stressed that the coming years will witness a big breakthrough in energy trade, based on the studies and negotiations that are currently taking place, noting that this trade is not concentrated only in the summer period, but during the months outside this period, which indicates that it provides permanent opportunities. He said that the Gulf electrical interconnection, which began as a strategic project aimed at energy security and supporting the GCC networks in emergency situations, has succeeded in achieving its most important strategic objectives of enhancing energy security, raising the level of reliability and safety for Gulf electrical systems, and avoiding electrical interruptions in all major support cases, which exceeded 2,400 cases since 2009; the start date of this interconnection. He emphasized the increase in the percentage of renewable energy in the Gulf energy mix, as most of the GCC countries have adopted ambitious goals in this direction over the next ten years, pointing out the importance of integrating renewable energy with electrical systems to ensure that this integration does not negatively affect these systems. CEO of GCC Interconnection Authority Eng. Ahmed Al Ibrahim said that energy storage has become one of the vital issues of concern to the GCC countries and the rest of the world as a result of the great development in the electric power sector, explaining that the GCC countries tend to use the latest energy storage systems - taking advantage of the strategies and plans of some Gulf countries in this field. He stressed that the transformation of energy to integrate renewable energy with electricity systems requires the use of many technologies in operating patterns and energy uses, and among the most important of these technologies is energy storage, which has recently been needed to ensure the reliability of these systems. Eng. Al Ibrahim pointed out that the authority is working within the framework of interconnection with neighboring countries to contribute to creating an electricity market and promoting the exchange of electric energy, in light of the high rates of growth in demand for this energy, indicating that the electrical interconnection between the GCC countries and Iraq, whose framework agreement was signed in 2019, is now in the stage of awarding bids. On Thursday, an agreement to finance the supply of Iraq with 500 megawatts will be signed with the Qatar Fund for Development (QFFD) and the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED), he noted, adding that the project is expected to be ready for implementation within the next two months. This step comes after the completion of the technical and legal aspects of the project and all the stages, including the completion of its bids and obtaining full financing, he said, adding that all that remains is to agree on prices with the Iraqi side, and the negotiations in this aspect are promising and are in their final stages, as the gap in this area has been bridged. He also stressed that the surplus with regard to the production of Gulf electricity, especially in the winter season, allows external connection, as the production capacity linked to the Gulf network for the eastern regions of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi and the rest of the GCC countries reaches 60,000 megawatts, while it reaches 120,000 megawatts in all GCC countries, which is one of the largest systems in the Middle East. Iraq had signed a framework agreement with the GCC to import 500 megawatts from the interconnection system between the GCC countries to cover areas south of Basra Governorate as a first stage that can be developed in the future for the central and northern areas of Iraq. It is noteworthy that the GCC Interconnection Authority participated in the 7th General Conference of the Arab Union of Electricity, which concluded today with a number of scientific papers in the panel discussions that addressed the role of the electrical connection in absorbing the entry of renewable energies, as well as the new development in the electricity market for the countries of the GCC. (QNA)