Qatar committed to energy efficiency

The GCC Power 2016 conference and exhibition, held under the patronage of the Minister of Energy and Industry, HE Dr Mohammed bin Saleh Al Sada, opened here yesterday at Sheraton Hotel.
The 12th GCC – CIGRE International Conference and 21st Exhibition for Electrical Equipment  is organized by GCC CIGRE and hosted by Qatar General Electricity & Water Corporation (Kahramaa) under the theme ‘Toward Energy Efficiency’. The GCC CIGRE, a non- profit institution, is mainly devoted to encourage and develop scientific researches and studies in the field of Electricity Systems.
Kahramaa is participating as the main sponsor along with 25 exhibitors representing 18 countries. Later, the Minister honoured the official sponsors of the Conference, in recognition of their role in organizing the event.
Talking to reporters on the sidelines of the event Dr Al Sada said  GCC CIGRE plays an important role in activating cooperation between the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states in the electricity sector both in terms of production, transmission or distribution.
The Minister noted that the conference is a good opportunity to discuss prospects of the electricity sector and its challenges.
Taking place parallel to the conference, the exhibition managed to attract world's leading companies in the electricity sector (including ABB, Siemens, GE, Schneider Electric among others), which will help all stakeholders to exchange experiences. Dr Al Sada stressed that Qatar attaches great importance to the electricity sector to improve efficiency and rationalization of the consumption of power and water.
The  event offers opportunity for utility industry professionals to discuss and share their views and experiences concerning relevant aspects of research, manufacturing and utility management.
Delivering his inaugural speech, Kahramaa's President Essa bin Hilal Al Kuwari, said that Qatar supports scientific conferences and gatherings in all sectors including utility, aiming overall development of the country.
Commenting on the theme of the event, he said that the ‘Energy efficiency’ plays great role as scientific studies and practices prove that energy efficiency is one of the cheapest energies and one of the largest energy sources in many countries due to its power savings and economic benefits.
"GCC Power 2016 will tackle this issue in details during the scheduled panel discussions. The State of Qatar stresses its commitment to energy efficiency as envisaged in QNV 2030. We endeavor to use the state of the art technology while adhering to energy conservation, executing smart grids, and increasing the operational capacity of generation plants targeting reduction in carbon emission to protect the environment as a strategic option for our generations to come", he added.
The three- day event will have a number of panel discussions, presentations, plenary sessions, tutorials and research- related activities.