Utilities

Abu Dhabi’s economic growth, rising population and expanding industrial sector have contributed to increasing power demand in the emirate. Demand is growing at a rate of 7.5% a year with authorities expecting this trajectory to continue over the next decade. The sector is run on an independent water and power producer model, which sees the government investing in an increasingly diversified range of facilities to meet demand for power and water generation. Most of Abu Dhabi’s power generation comes from combined-cycle gas turbine power stations, though both nuclear and renewable energy are developing in the emirate. The Gulf’s first nuclear power plant is due to come on-line in 2017, when the first of four reactors at the Barakah plant in Al Gharbia starts generation. Developments in wastewater management are improving the sewerage system, which will see it become one of the world’s largest gravity-driven networks when completed, with a 42-km main tunnel.

This chapter contains an interview with Saif Al Qubaisi, Acting Director-General, Regulation and Supervision Bureau.