In an Effort to Create an Integrated Economy Among the Gulf Arab Countries, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Interconnection Authority was established as a joint-stock company comprising the six states of Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia.

One objective of the GCC is to interconnect the electrical power networks of the member states, which would enable the exchange of electrical energy and provide emergency support between systems. Additionally, member states are expected to be able to reduce generation reserve requirements, improve the economic efficiency of their systems, strengthen the reliability of supplies and coordinate power system operations.

The GCC is closely following global technological developments in the field of electricity in an effort to apply the best modern technologies to its projects.

GCC INTERCONNECTION BENEFITS

The GCC interconnection will provide economical, operational and technological benefits. Historically, the economic benefits of interconnections have been providing improved security of supply and improved economic efficiency because of the interchange of energy between systems, resulting in a reduction in total operating costs. Security of supply is the main purpose for constructing interconnections between countries. Sharing generation capacity also will reduce additional investments in future generation infrastructure.

The interconnection also can provide countries or regions with an alternative source for operating reserves and support during emergencies. Furthermore, power interconnections can provide diversity in terms of the use of energy sources. Interconnections can increase system reliability through the importation of energy produced by nuclear and hydro power plants, reducing the dependence on domestic energy sources such as fossil-fuel power plants. Furthermore, interconnections can result in the sharing of renewable energy resources such as hydro power, offering low-cost energy to an entire region, thus reducing the dependence on expensive fossil fuels.

With the development of power interconnections, individual power systems can be operated and expanded as part of a larger regional system, thereby providing countries with income by exporting excess power to other countries and regions. Because of the large availability of gas and crude oil for power generation in the GCC member countries, the potential exists for economic energy exchanges between the national power systems.

In addition to the usual benefits, the GCC interconnection will promote a common GCC electricity market that ultimately will provide even more benefits. The interconnection will serve as a gateway to a regional and pan-Arab power pool. Newly reformed laws promote the participation of local and external investors, GCC member countries and neighboring countries, resulting in lower production costs as a way to achieve lower electricity prices.

Another driver of the interconnections is to allow private investors to develop larger projects with access to a larger market, including not only the GCC but other pools such as the EJILST (Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria and Turkey) and UCTE (Europe). The availability of a common market also will provide an opportunity to establish power plants close to existing energy resources. This would enable strategic locations that maximize market potential and minimize risks to be selected for independent power projects (IPPs) or independent water and power projects (IWPPs). An example would be the construction of a power plant operated by Qatari natural gas with extra-high-voltage transmission supplying energy to regions with high demand.

Interconnecting the GCC grid to other grids (such as the EJILST or Maghreb Arab grid) will create an opportunity to export surplus power to other regions. For example, in the winter when demand is low, surplus power from the GCC region could be exported to Europe where winter power demand is high. This market also would encourage energy interchange with the peak demand in the GCC region during the hot summer seasons being supplied by regions where the demand is low. Developing a regional market via the GCC grid could provide alternative solutions to exporting power, rather than exporting energy via a natural gas pipeline.

GCC INTERCONNECTION OUTLINE

The project started with detailed feasibility studies and planning power system studies, undertaken by SNC-Lavalin (Montreal, Québec, Canada) to determine an interconnector system design that would satisfy the normal power system criteria for capacity, reliability and stability. The approved design was for a 400-kV super grid interconnection, which would be planned and constructed in three phases.

Phase I of the 400-kV interconnection of the power systems of the Gulf Arab states — more specifically, the interconnection of the power systems of Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait — included back-to-back high-voltage direct-current (HVDC) 1200-MW installations between a 50-Hz, 400-kV system and a 60-Hz, 380-kV system.

Phase I comprised the following six major projects:

• A 400-kV double-circuit transmission line constructed 310 km (193 miles) from the Al Zour substation (Kuwait) to the Al Fadhili substation (Saudi Arabia).

• A 400-kV double-circuit transmission line constructed 112 km (70 miles) between the Al Fadhili substation and the Ghunan substation, close to the city of Dammam in Saudi Arabia.

• Back-to-back HVDC interconnection between the 50-Hz interconnector to the Saudi Arabia 380-kV, 60-Hz system at the Al Fadhili substation.

• A 400-kV double-circuit interconnection comprising overhead lines and a submarine link from the Ghunan substation to the Al Jasra substation (Bahrain) and associated substations.

• A 400-kV double-circuit transmission line constructed 288 km (179 miles) between the Ghunan substation and the Salwa substation (Saudi Arabia) and associated substations

• A 400-kV double-circuit transmission line constructed 97 km (60 miles) from the Salwa substation to the Doha South substation (Qatar) and associated substations.

In addition, an interconnection control center was installed at the Ghunan subsation.

Phase II will include the internal interconnection of the southern systems (UAE and Oman) to form the UAE national grid and the Oman northern grid. Phase III will include the interconnection of the northern and southern systems, which will complete the 850-km (528-mile) 400-kV ac transmission line, scheduled to be finished in 2010.

These phases include the following two major projects:

• A 400-kV double-circuit transmission line from Salwa (Saudia Arabia) to Al Silaa (UAE) and the associated sub-stations

• Double- and single-circuit 220-kV transmission lines between Al Ouhah (UAE) to Al Wasset (Oman) and the associated substations

Specifications and tender documents for the Phase I projects were received from prequalified bidders. Evaluation of the bids and final contract awards were completed by November 2005. Project management for Phase I was awarded to SNC-Lavalinto, which was responsible for completing the construction and commissioning of this phase by December 2008.

THE FIRST PHASE

The estimated cost of Phase I's six major projects was US$1.095 billion. The projects were awarded as separate contracts to global companies.

• 400-kV substations. ABB (Zurich, Switzerland), which includes the ABB Contracting Company of Saudi Arabia, won the contract for the six 400-kV substations. The value of the ABB contract was $222 million, making it one of the largest substation orders ever awarded to the company. ABB was responsible for the design and manufacturing of equipment, system engineering, installation, commissioning and civil works.

• Underground and submarine cables. A consortium of worldwide leaders in the cable industry, Prysmian Cables & Systems (Milan, Italy) and Nexans (Paris, France) were awarded the largest of the contracts worth some $343 million to install the submarine and land cables that would link Bahrain to Saudi Arabia. The first cable circuit was scheduled to be completed within 37 months, with the second circuit to be completed within 50 months. Still under construction, these cable links are being installed from the Al Jasra substation in Bahrain to the Ras Al Qurayyah substation in Saudi Arabia via Umm an Na´san island. The submarine cable sections are 40 km (25 miles) long and the underground cable sections 7 km (4 miles) long. The overall weight of the cables required for this project is more than 12, 000 tonnes (13,228 tons).

• HVDC converter station. AREVA T&D (Paris) and Cogelex, also of France, were awarded two contracts worth $234 million in total. Under the terms of the first contract, AREVA delivered the region's first back-to-back 1800-MW HVDC converter station. The station consists of three 600-MW converters, including thyristor valves, 375-MVA converter transformers, as well as 380-kV and 400-kV circuit breakers.

• Protection, control and telecom. The second contract awarded to AREVA T&D was for the design and installation of the protection, control and telecommunications systems for the GCC grid. The contract also included the construction of an interconnection control center equipped with supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) and energy management system (EMS) based on AREVA's e-terra platform software. This interconnection control center was designed to remotely operate and monitor all of the GCC 400-kV grid and substations, with priority being given to efficient and safe operation of the power grid. The interconnection control center has facilities to coordinate its operations with other GCC control centers, enabling energy exchanges between the GCC countries' national grids, including the management, recording and billing of energy transactions between the different countries.

  AREVA also developed a fiber-optic-based telecommunications infrastructure spread across approximately 800 km (497 miles) that relays control commands and retrieves key substation information to the control center through a high-speed fiber-optic network and backup digital power-line carriers.

• Overhead transmission lines. To construct the 400-kV overhead transmission lines, National Contracting Co. (Saudi Arabia) and Middle East Engineering & Development Co. (Meedco), an affiliate of South Korea's Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co., were each awarded two contracts. The total estimated value of the four transmission line contracts totaled $280 million.

The Phase I of the GCC interconnection project is successfully energized and started the trail operations in the first quarter of 2009, and all of the Phase I countries are enjoying the benefits of the interconnected network.

THE LONG TERM

The World Energy Council forecast that the GCC countries will require 100,000 MW of additional power over the next 10 years to meet demand. An increase of this magnitude will present a challenge on one side, but on the other side, an opportunity for the GCC Interconnection Authority to provide a valuable transmission service to the GCC countries to meet such demands from various generation sources in the region. The ultimate long-term goal would be to connect to regional and European power networks, presenting vast opportunities for power exchange.

Therefore, the completion of the GCC interconnection in 2010 will serve as an important step toward achieving the ultimate long-term goal objectives of the Arab Gulf states.

Nasser Al-Shahrani (nshahrani@gccia.com.sa) received his BSEE degree from King Fahad University of Petroleum and Minerals and his degree in business administration from the University of Bahrain. Currently, he is the manager of system operations in the GCC Interconnection Authority and has more than 12 years of power system operations, having recently acted as manager of the System Operations and Control division in Saudi Electricity Coy. He is a board member of the Saudi Scientific Society for Electrical Engineers and an active member of CIGRÉ.