The Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation (Kahramaa) has leveraged the collaborative understanding of information technology and the power sector to launch its smart meter project.

 

Kahramaa aims at covering the complete geographical roll-out of the smart meter project across the capital city by next year, with its decisive implementation plans to make the country a pioneer in smart energy management, said a statement.

 

The country’s steady movement towards an overall smart energy approach has been supported by the installation of smart grid projects and its related technologies such as smart meter that benefits consumers and energy providers. 

 

Additionally, it enables Kahramaa to optimise energy consumption and promote energy efficiency.

 

Brad Hariharan, regional director, Expotrade Middle East, said: “By adding the intelligence of IT to power distribution, Kahramaa aims to attain sustainable development and significantly improve the power infrastructure in the country. 

 

"Encompassing a broad portfolio of technologies, smart grids ensure optimised usage of energy usage and support increased penetration of renewable energy. With the state of Qatar witnessing rapid growth in the power sector, the government has undertaken massive initiatives to achieve its noble vision of attaining a significant increase in renewables and energy efficiency.”

 

In the Middle East, the rate of adoption of smart metering has been on a steady growth trajectory and this demand will continue to increase exponentially in the coming years, said the statement.

 

Government-led initiatives and introduction of regulatory frameworks coupled with the adoption of latest technology in the utilities segment have driven the deployment of smart grids and smart meters in the region, it said.

 

Large international private players have played a crucial role in developing end-to-end solutions to build a smart energy infrastructure in the GCC region.

 

Installing a smart meter will help keep a check on power distribution, monitor consumer usage and communicate revenue unit of energy data in real-time between any two-distribution points. 

 

According to an industry study, smart metering market will reach 16.1 million units by 2022 and 86 per cent of homes and businesses in the Gulf countries are expected to have smart meters by the same year.

 

The opportunities of smart metering and its efficacy will be discussed at the Power Qatar Summit 2015 on October 26 and 27 at The Ritz Carlton, Doha, Qatar. - TradeArabia News Service