Electricity and water are everyday essentials that we so often take for granted, however, their role in the functioning of everyday activities is crucial. Therefore, in Qatar, the Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation, also known as KAHRAMAA, is working to ensure that high-quality and sustainable electricity and water are available for everyone across the country for better living conditions. Consequently, KAHRAMAA has developed these two sectors since its establishment in 2000 towards a more sustainable future, which is putting them on the map as a global leader as an innovative and customer-focused water and energy provider.
In 2000, KAHRAMAA was established to regulate and maintain the supply of electricity and water to its customers. As part of its role, KAHRAMAA acquires, constructs, and operates electricity and water transmission and distribution networks across Qatar. It facilitates this network through its Power and Water Purchase Agreements (PWPA), which provide necessary technical and corporate support to KAHRAMAA in establishing generation and desalination ventures. Furthermore, it sets regulations, standards, and codes of practice across the industry’s electricity and water suppliers to ensure that consistency and top-quality service are maintained.
However, the key focus of KAHRAMAA is their customers, as at the heart of their approach to water and electricity distribution and transmission is a relentless commitment to ensuring that the customer’s needs are met. Therefore, KAHRAMAA has key values of performance, responsiveness, teamwork, transparency, and loyalty to ensure that throughout their operations they are working towards their vision to be a global leader in the electricity and water sectors through customer-centricity, performance, innovation, environmental sustainability, and social responsibility.
Across the energy sector, KAHRAMAA has been rapidly expanding its electricity network to meet the growing demand for electricity across the country. This development is in line with the Qatar National Vision 2050, National Development Strategy and guidelines issued by the government to transform Qatar’s electricity sector. The sector has already seen crucial development since KAHRAMAA’s establishment, with the expansion of the main transmission network which as of 2021 had 372 substations, compared to the 139 under KAHRAMAA in 2008. Furthermore, as the demand for electricity increases, KAHRAMAA has developed an electrical capacity of 10579 MegaWatts (MW) as of 2020, a vast step up from the 8755 MW in 2013. The electrical development of Qatar has been crucial in recent years especially, through the connection of its transmission network to some vital projects in the country including the Lusail City, Metro Project, New Port and the 2022 World Cup Stadium. Therefore, the role that KAHRAMAA plays in developing the electrical infrastructure of Qatar is crucial, as through many of these projects the country has benefitted economically.
Therefore, KAHRAMAA has increased the number of main stations, the span of cables and overhead lines across the network, and substations for distribution across the country. Whilst these are all set to increase further over the coming years, their current development has already been aiding in meeting the demands of Qatar’s urban development, economic activity pace and state-hosted events which see the country continue to develop across all areas. Therefore, KAHRAMAA is seeking to increase the number of substations, which stood at 18,013 in Q2 of 2020, to more than 234,000 by the end of 2026. This goal highlights KAHRAMAA’s commitment to the continuous development of the country.
Furthermore, as the world moves towards a more sustainable future, the role of electricity is set to take centre stage across the globe. For KAHRAMAA they have already begun supplying this future through the establishment of electrical vehicle charging stations. In an August press release, KAHRAMAA announced that, along with the Ministry of Interior Collaborate, it had implemented an electric vehicle charging station at the General Directorate of Traffic Headquarters in Madinat Khalifa. The fast-charging station has a 100 KW capacity and is capable of charging two vehicles simultaneously in less than 20 minutes. This charging station comes after KAHRAMAA inputted another charging station previously at the Al-Fazaa building in the Al-Mamoura area. Consequently, the charging station marks a crucial development towards sustainability for the country, as the stations mark the start of a broader partnership between the two aiming to proliferate charging stations across various ministry locations.
At present, KAHRAMAA has launched over 160 swift chargers across the country and is steadfast in its mission to commission 300 units by the end of 2024, with a target of 600 units by 2025. Consequently, KAHRAMAA has remained at the forefront of developing the electric vehicle charging network through the National Program for Conservations and Energy Efficiency, as it is set to launch further projects and initiatives, such as a solar production plant to ensure the harnessing of electrical power for a more sustainable future is made possible through a reliable and functional network. Thus, to achieve this, KAHRAMAA has set up offices across the country to quickly respond to any outages and get electrical power back to its customers/projects as soon as possible.
The other major part of KAHRAMAA’s operations is in the water sector. KAHRAMAA has a comprehensive and holistic approach to minimising real and apparent water loss across the water network. Since its establishment, KAHRAMAA has been upgrading the water distribution services by replacing leaky and old pipelines with new connections. This development has seen KAHRAMMAA supply Qatar with continuous water 24 hours a day and has implemented a range of programs to detect leaks across the network to maintain this level.
To monitor the water network, KAHRAMAA has a National Water Control Centre (NWCC) which is a centralised water control and monitoring centre with a state-of-the-art water SCADA system which is overseeing the water system to guarantee a high performance of water pumping, storage, transmission, and distribution. The system is fitted with detection systems to warn of radioactive contaminants, online seawater radiation monitoring, and acute toxicity monitoring of drinking water for chemical, biological and radiation monitoring at some pumping stations. For KAHRAMAA, drinking water is crucial for the citizens of Qatar, so through their network they are committed to providing safe drinking water for all of Qatar. Furthermore, KAHRAMAA’s labs have been accredited with ISO-17025 water-quality certification which ensures that the quality of drinking water through KAHRAMAA’s testing services is accurate and reliable, whilst also recognised by the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) guidelines and KAHRAMAA’s own drinking water requirements.
As the demand for water continues to rise, KAHRAMAA is committed to meeting this demand through its water sector services. The water production capacity of potable desalinated water was expected to reach 536 million imperial gallons per day (MIGD) by 2021, for which KAHRAMAA commissioned an additional production capacity facility which can handle 636 MIGD. Additionally, KAHRAMAA commissioned a new desalination plant, an expansion of the current transmission and distribution networks, as well as the construction of reservoirs to increase the national water storage capacity to 2392 MIGD. Consequently, KAHRAMAA they are continuing to develop the water sector to meet the growing demands of Qatar’s population through a commitment to clean, safe and available drinking water for all.
Overall, KAHRAMAA is working tirelessly to develop two of the crucial components of daily life. Through a bold commitment to Qatar’s water and electricity infrastructure, KAHRAMAA is developing the country towards a future of reliable, safe, and accessible resources to maintain the smooth running of everyday life. Through their expansive networks of cables, pipelines, and people across the country they are leading the country, and the sectors towards a more reliable and sustainable future as the demand for resources continues to rise. Therefore, in achieving its goals to provide high-quality and sustainable electricity and water, KAHRAMAA has placed itself as a global leader focusing on giving the people of Qatar the best future.
