Smart Grid Technologies in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Countries: Challenges and Opportunities

Abstract

There are structural shift in electricity markets in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, in both supply and demand industries. Therefore, the GCC member states need to develop new models for electricity supply and demand in order to adapt to these changes. Although, it requires huge capital investment and significant reforms to achieve this goal, however, in the long run, it is worth it. The countries in the region may need to privatize their government power industries, encourage competitive markets instead of monopolies, diversify electricity generation from fossil fuel based system by integrating renewable energy sources in mix generation and transform regulated electricity prices to liberalized electricity prices. The penetration of renewable energy into existing grid networks in the GCC region, is an economical way to diversify the electricity mix in the region and create an avenue for the implementation of smart grid technologies. Solar and wind power are the most common renewable sources in the region. The smart grid technology enables multi-directional flows, control of electricity and information in a wide distributed network, hence, could be referred to as the next generation of power grids. The traditional power grids could be made smart by making them communicate, sense, control and applying intelligence. Therefore, the smart grid technologies give room for effective compatibility and optimization of variables of the power grid for optimal generation, transmission and distribution system. This paper presents some of the challenges and opportunities in the implementation of smart grid technologies in the GCC region. The opportunities of smart grid implementation in the GCC region outweigh the challenges that could arise. The paper also addresses electricity consumption, interconnection grid of the GCC members, concepts of traditional and smart grid network, including renewable energy penetration in the GCC region.