KUWAIT CITY, June 24: Although temperatures continued to rise above 50 degrees Celsius, the power consumption index has now stabilized, reaching the green zone with a peak consumption of 16,468 megawatts. Sources from the Ministry of Electricity, Water and Renewable Energy attributed this stabilization to adding 500 megawatts to the electricity grid two days ago, following the completion of maintenance works at South Zour station. They also cited efforts to rationalize electricity consumption in government agencies and raise public awareness about the importance of conservation, aided by media campaigns.

Sources clarified that the power consumption indicator in the green zone does not mean the end of the planned power cutoff throughout the summer. They hinted that the ministry could resort to this measure in case of high consumption or any emergency. They also emphasized the need to continue the rationalization efforts in all types of housing areas, particularly since the ministry set the peak hours from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm.

On the other hand, Head of Kuwait Society for Sustainable Energy Eng. Souad Al-Hussein said the government’s intention to purchase renewable energy from citizens is an ambitious plan and could greatly contribute to rationalizing traditional energy produced from fossil fuels on the one hand and increasing production capacity on the other hand. He said this trend has not been applied until now, stressing there has been an unjustified delay. “If only this was implemented three years ago, we would have had a power surplus that could be exported,” he asserted. He further clarified that purchasing renewable energy from citizens will contribute to reducing the consumption of one house from 30 percent to 40 percent, which will be beneficial for the general energy production in the country; that is, if the experiment is generalized to all homes. He said a house measuring more than 400 square meters needs approximately KD 10,000 to install a small renewable energy system, such as solar panels. He added this necessitates the establishment of a fund to support the trend among citizens by granting them an interest-free loan in order to encourage them to adopt this general and urgent trend, specifically in the next stage, when successive power consumption hikes are expected. “Perhaps, what the country is currently going through is the greatest example of the facts we are presenting here,” he added. He continued saying that the State has obligated the commercial and industrial sectors to produce 10 percent of their energy consumption through renewable energy systems in future buildings.

By Mohammed Ghanem
Al-Seyassah/Arab Times Staff