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IESL Qatar Chapter successfully conducted its 3rd Continuous Professional Development (CPD) program titled “Latest Trends in Power System and Smart Grid Concepts In Qatar” and the CPD event was hosted at Crowne Plaza Hotel, Business Park- Doha, on 27h April, 2018.
The CPD event was conducted by Dr. Abdul Hameed Pathiyil, Senior Engineer (Protection Design and System Analysis) Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation, known as Kahramaa.
Dr. Abdul Hameed Pathiyil is an expert in System and Electrical Protection, having about 27 years of experience in various domains of Protection Design and Analysis, Power System Study and Recommendation, Fault Analysis and Diagnosis, Review and Testing & Commissioning etc.
He started his career in 1991 and prior to joining Kahramaa, he worked at Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB), Saudi Electricity Company and Mott MacDonald Consultant Qatar. Dr. Hameed is a Fellow Member of the Institution of Engineers India and the past Hon. Treasurer and current Hon. Joint Secretary of the Institution of Engineers India, Qatar Chapter. Also, he was a member of IEEE Protection System Relaying Committee, and has reviewed many protection related papers.
Starting the CPD event, Dr. Hameed informed the percentages of global power generation is concerned follows: fossil fuel 59%, nuclear 18%, hydro 14% and balance portion contributes by non-conventional resources. In contrast with the above he reveals that Qatar total power generation comes from Oil and Gas resources.
Dr. Hameed further explained that Qatar has five power generating companies and current generating capacity is 8800MW and demand is around 8200MW. With the completion of ongoing projects, including the Umm Al Houl Power Plant which is the biggest power plant in Qatar, the estimated generating capacity is expected to exceed about 11,000MW by the end of the year 2018.
Besides the above, he informed that with the high power demand in Qatar is driven by large infrastructure investments related to the 2022 FIFA World Cup (to be hosted in Qatar) and the 2030 National Vision of Qatar, government will build few more power plants in medium term to enhance the installed capacity, which is always maintaining big surplus than the actual peak demand.
Regarding the renewable energy, Dr Hameed highlighted that the Qatar government has set a target of meeting 20% of its domestic energy needs from renewable energy sources by 2030. Nevertheless, so far only one ongoing solar power project with the capacity of 5MW which is under construction in the Duhail district in Doha.
On the other hand, Qatar is geographically well positioned to tap its tremendous solar energy potential; hence Qatar aims to generate 200MW by 2020 and also 1000MW from Solar and other renewable energy by 2030.
Explaining the Smart Grid concepts, Dr. Hameed said that “Smart Grid” effort aims to transform this critical infrastructure into the 21st century using computer-based remote control and automation. The smart grid has been called “electricity with a brain,” the “energy Internet”. Generally; it integrates electricity and information and communication infrastructures to produce electricity more efficiently and reliably, as well as cleanly and safely for the environment.
Furthermore, Dr. Hameed explained that an integrated system that enables two-way communication between utilities and their customers thus help utility companies to overcome many of the operating and customer service obstacles that stand in their way and delivering better results for both companies and their consumers. The result is greater control over the generation, transmission, distribution and retail of electricity, as well as increased efficiency along with the reduced consumption and the cost.
In Qatar latest Smart Grid scenario is concerned Dr. Hameed highlighted that all Qatar General Electricity & Water Corporation, Substations (i.e 400kV to 11kV) are used IEC 61850 communication protocol compatible relays/IED’s and all relays/IED’s are connected with Substation Automation System (SAS) by dual redundancy Fiber Optic cables. Eventually all substation are interconnected to National Control Center (NCC) or Distribution Control Centers (DCC) via IEC-101-104 communication Gateways.
Also, Dr. Hameed notified that Kahramaa has replaced all analogue electricity meters has opted for a smart electricity and water meter system using GPRS as their communication method.
IESL Qatar Chapter Engineers, Indian Engineering Society (Qatar Chapter) President/ Secretary and other professional engineers from India/ Lebanon who are currently working in Qatar attended this informative CPD event.
Certificates were awarded to all attendees.
Some of the event images are included below:
By. C.Eng. Jagath Gunasekara
Chairman-IESL Qatar Chapter, 2017/2018
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