KUWAIT: The latest State Audit Bureau report warned of the possibility of a shortage in power production during 2022 and 2023 of up to 1,000 megawatts because of the ministry's postponement in 2019 of projects to meet the demand for power and water until 2035, Al-Rai Arabic daily reported yesterday.
The report said a ministerial committee gave several recommendations to avoid the shortage, but some were not implemented so far. The ministry plan included operating Al-Zour and Nuwaiseeb stations in the third quarter of 2022, but neither projects were put out for tendering.
The committee recommended implementing the renewable energy projects as soon as possible, in order to operate at 500 megawatts before the summer of 2023 with a storage capacity of five hours to benefit from energy produced during peak hours. A study was also conducted on the need to buy power from GCC countries, especially during the summer of 2023 with a capacity of 1,000 megawatts from June till Sept 2023.