The Electricity and Water Authority (EWA) is keen to continuously adopt and implement the best possible practices to keep pace with growing demand for electricity ahead of summer in urban development as well as industrial and commercial purposes, according to a top minister.

The assurance came from Electricity and Water Affairs Minister Yasser Humaidan who visited the Capital Governorate Emergency Centre yesterday, accompanied by EWA president Kamal Mohammed.

The centre consists of 117 electrical generators with a capacity of 50 to 1,500 kilovolts each, in addition to a high-voltage network of 11 kilovolts and a low voltage network of 415 volts.

It covers a total of 127 blocks and benefits a total of 184,000 users. Additionally, it also covers 3,350 electric substations and 63 stations.

The centre also monitors lighting networks around the clock, carries out emergency repairs, conducts periodic maintenance, reports faults in substations, modernises and develops existing networks and provides support and assistance to relevant departments.

Officials inspecting the emergency centre

The visit came as part of a series of inspections to emergency and maintenance centres across the governorate.

Inspections are being conducted in order to assess the centres’ readiness and abilities to deal with any emergency that may arise in the future, and ensure that electricity and water services are not affected.

During the visit, the centre’s maintenance and operations department showcased its role in maintaining the sustainability of services, following up on reports and how they deal with them.

Officials also visited the electricity distribution station that runs on an automated system.

“The authority is keen to develop infrastructure and provide sustainable services with the highest standards of efficiency and effectiveness,” said Mr Humaidan.

“What distinguishes the electricity network in Bahrain is the ability to provide services of the highest quality that are dependable and reliable on an international level.

“The authority will continue to work towards the aspirations of the citizens and residents in the country and will work on projects and centres that will provide them with necessary services.”

The GDN reported in October last year that the EWA succeeded in achieving a five per cent drop in the number of power cuts in Bahrain compared with previous years, despite recording exceptional temperatures and high humidity levels during last year’s summer season.

In light of rising electrical loads to record levels during the summer of 2023, failures in medium voltage cables decreased by 11pc and the failures in low voltage cables dropped by 13pc compared with the previous year.

This was reflected positively on internationally approved network reliability indicators like the Electric System Average Interruption Duration Index which measures the number of network outages and the number of interruptions in a year – which decreased to 0.11 compared with the international average, which is about one.

 

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