DOHA: Ras Laffan B Independent Power and Water Plant in Qatar has been awarded as the 'Power and Water Utility of the Year' in the Middle East, reaffirming it as one of the most trusted and reliable providers of electricity and water to Qatar's National Power and Water Grid, a statement issued by International Power said yesterday.
International Power (owned by GDF SUEZ) together with Qatar Electricity and Water Company and Chubu Electric Power of Japan have announced that Q Power's Ras Laffan B power and water plant in Qatar has won the award at the recent Middle East Electricity Awards in Dubai.
The plant, located at Ras Laffan Industrial City, has a capacity to produce 1,025 MW of power and 60 MIGD (Million Imperial Gallons per Day) of desalinated water. Ras Laffan B is owned and operated by Qatar Power Company Q.S.C ('Q Power'), a joint venture of International Power, Qatar Electricity and Water Company (Kahramaa), and Chubu Electric Power of Japan. The company sells its electricity and water under a 25 year electricity and water purchase agreement to Kahramaa.
Since the start of its commercial operation, Ras Laffan B has demonstrated consistently excellent performance in terms of the plant's reliability, availability, safety and operational excellence, which has made it one of the most trusted and reliable sources of electricity and water for Qatar's national power and water grid. Moreover, in both 2010 and 2011, Q Power received a Gold Award from the UK's Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents in recognition of its sustained efforts in maintaining extraordinary health and safety performance records in Ras Laffan B.
Shankar Krishnamoorthy, CEO and President of IPR-GDF SUEZ Middle East, Turkey and Africa, said: "We are delighted to have received this award on behalf of Q Power, its employees and shareholders. I believe this award gives due recognition to the cohesive, motivated and hardworking team behind the Ras Laffan B plant. I congratulate the team and I also thank our partners in Q Power for the ongoing support and commitment they have consistently shown."
International Power has a direct equity stake in two power and water plants in operation in Qatar: Ras Laffan B and Ras Laffan C, which produces 2,730 MW and 63 MIGD of desalinated water per day.
© The Peninsula 2012
