Nation's power grid to gain 1000 megawatts before summer

The nation's power grid stands to gain about 1000 megawatts before the onset of the hot summer season, due to expansions in major power plants, said the Minister of Public Works, Electricity, and Water Abdul-Aziz Al-Ibrahim on Wednesday.
After having toured the southern Al-Zoar power plant, the minister indicated in a press statement that expansion plans at the plant would add no less than 500 megawatts to the national grid. The same is true of the Al-Sabbiya power plant whose expansion will also provide 500 more megawatts before the arrival of the hot summer season, said the minister.
Current expansion at the northern Al-Zoar power plant, almost 70 percent completed, will provide a capacity of 230 megawatts to the national grid and the estimation is that the plant will be operational next July, said the minister.
He noted that just because there will be much power to spare, it should be no reason for consumers to abuse that privilege, stressing that all should conserve electric power for the benefit of the general good.
Regarding the use of solar energy to produce electric power, the ministry of Electricity and Water's undersecretary Iyad Al-Falah said in a similar press statement that since the success of the experiment as of last May with setting up solar panels on the roofs of some government buildings, the ministry he works for is studying the feasibility of installing solar panels on its water reservoirs in twenty locations around the country. It is estimated that these panels will produce about 300 megawatts of electric power, he said.
Source: KUNA