Aug 6 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Ahmad Al-Khaled Kuwait Times

Minister of Oil, Electricity and Water Mohammed Al-Olaim admitted yesterday that the state faces power problems, but explained the ministry was on-track with a slew of costly energy-related infrastructure improvements. He said, "The Ministry is having problems with the networks and the transformers -- there have been power cuts in different areas and the problems were technical." He noted, "The ministry has spent about KD 1 billion to improve the infrastructure for electricity and water.

The government has promoted an electricity and water conservation campaign called 'Tarsheed' for the past two years. It encourages residents to conserve resources. While Kuwait has seen several isolated power outages so far this summer, it has not suffered from the across-the-board scheduled rolling blackouts like previous years. Al-Olaim explained that his ministry was working to repair the networking and transformer glitches responsible for this summer's problems, "The ministry has 26,000 transformers between main stations and sub-stations, and 33,000 kilometers of cables, which make the work load enormous.

The ministry has been accused by the Parliament of a lack of planning for the future. Minister Al-Olaim spoke to journalists yesterday at the inauguration of Al-Zour South Power Stations' new gas turbines, which are in accordance with the 2008 emergency power plan. He predicted large scale increases for future consumption saying, "I predict fuel consumption will increase to 700,000 to 800,000 barrels per day-at this time electricity production will be 16,000 megawatts. This means almost 50 percent of our oil production.

Al-Olaim listed numerous ministry plans which are in the works to address future needs. "The add-on projects in the Al-Zour power station to produce 650 megawatts will end in the first quarter of 2010." he stated. Two new projects are set to produce 5000 megawatts. "Including 2000 megawatts from the Al-Subiya station, the first unit of which will enter service in the second quarter of 2010." said Al-Olaim. He continued, "We will finish with the first stage of construction on the North Zour Station in the second quarter of 2011, with a capacity of 1,500 megawatts. The second stage will be completed in the fourth quarter of the same year with a capacity of 1,500 megawatts.

Kuwait has battled a long-standing water shortage, culminating in the government lowering water pressure throughout the state which prompted some residents to install illegal water pumps to up their water pressure. "The states strategic water reserves stand at 2.3 billion gallons and there are other projects to construct extra tanks with a capacity of 1 billion gallons in the future." stated Al-Olaim who explained the ministry projects currently under construction, "Work will end on North Shuaiba power station in the second quarter of 2009 which will produce 800 megawatts of electricity and 45 million gallons of fresh water a day." He said, "The Shuwaikh station, which will produce 30 million gallons of fresh water per day, will be completed in the third quarter of 2010.

Al-Olaim stated, "The Ministry of Electricity and Water has collected late fees from companies who were contracted according to the 2007 emergency plan for an amount of KD 30 million." The state subsidizes electricity sold to consumers. "The cost of one kilowatt ranges from 35 fils to 37 fils-The Ministry sells one kilowatt to the consumer for 2 fils, this costs the ministry about KD 1.5 billion per year." said Al-Olaim, who added, "The ministry consumes 340,000 barrels of fuel per day.

The minister called for equality between technicians from the Ministry of Electricity and Water and the technicians from the Oil sector, who regularly receive higher pay and benefits than other sectors. He explained, "The work hazards and difficulties are equal especially in this harsh environment." Al-Olaim said the ministry has an all-around recruiting problem with a lack of Kuwaitis and expatriate candidates applying for technical positions. "They are seeking other job opportunities because our benefits are less than in other sectors." said Al-Olaim.

To combat the lack of applicants, he commented, "The Undersecretary Yusef Al-Haijri and the technical committee are working hard to secure more benefits which will push the development of services that the ministry can provide to consumers." Al-Olaim said , "The union of electricity and water workers are working diligently to secure the demands of their workers and the leadership in the ministry is keen to have constant communication and coordination, and to work hand-in-hand to provide the appropriate work environment for all workers.

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