Dubai: The UAE will be fully integrated into the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) power grid by the end of the year, an official said Monday.
Dr Abdullah Al Shehri, Deputy Governor of the Electricity and Cogeneration Regulatory Authority (ECRA) of Saudi Arabia, said on the sidelines of the Saudi Water and Power Forum 2010 that studies are currently being made to assess the possibility of including Iraq and Egypt in the power grid in the future, if the grid's capacity and stability allow it.
This will permit linking the grid with Europe, he said, according to a report by WAM news agency.
"Having the option to tap into other nations' surplus power will allow the UAE to avoid making further investments in peaking power plants.
"That's a substantial saving right there," said Abhay Bhargava, industry manager of the Mena energy and power systems practice at global market intelligence consultancy Frost and Sullivan.
"Egypt is a power-surplus country in terms of the investments it has already made — a lot of them in renewable sources.
"Other members of the grid will benefit from this when the investments fructify into sellable power," Bhargava told Gulf News.
The UAE will benefit from being part of the grid as its nuclear capability comes online, and it transforms from an energy importer to an exporter.
Al Shehri confirmed that the power grid is operating and that power is being exchanged with other GCC countries.
