2011 Bahrain Country Commercial Guide - US - Export.gov

Electrical Power
Overview Return to top
For the past several years, the Government was forced to implement a program of
organized, rolling brown-outs during the peak summer months due to a lack of capacity.
A one-day countrywide power failure occurred in summer of 2004 due to
mismanagement of power flow near the Alba aluminum manufacturing plant. A
Canadian firm was awarded the contract to investigate the power failure. The study
showed that both the Ministry of Electricity and Alba were both at fault for summer
2004‘s power-outage, while discrediting the Ministry‘s capability in crisis management
circumstances.
In June 2003, Ministry of Finance and National Economy (MOFNE) awarded Ernest &
Young a contract to study the privatization of the power and water sectors. The current
installed government power generation capacity in Bahrain is 1,839 MW.
The Government is moving towards liberalizing electrical production. In 2006, the
Government sold their biggest power plant, Al Hidd for $738 million. In 2004, the first
tender was awarded to establish the first private electrical plant called Al Ezzal, an
800MW per day facility. In August 2008, the Government awarded a tender to develop
Al Dur Power Station to Gulf Investment Company.
In September 2009, the Government awarded the tender to purchase Electrical
Producing Turbines from General Electric in a deal worth $231 million.
Best Prospects Return to top
Alba provides another 275 MW on standby from its 1,505 MW power station. Demand
during the peak summer months forces the Government to draw on this regularly.
Electricity consumption per capita in Bahrain is about 480 units a year. In 2007,
domestic consumption accounted for 60 percent of demand, industries 19 percent, and
commercial establishments 21 percent. Some industries use natural gas to produce their
own power. Demand is growing by an average of 6.8 percent annually, and is projected
to outstrip even the expanded capacity from power upgrades and the second phase
expansion of Al Hidd power station. Already, plans have been announced for the third
phase, in which the Government will invest more than $400 million.
Opportunities Return to top
The Government created an Electricity & Water Commission to oversee the expansion
of power production.
In November 2004, Bahrain‘s new and only private power plant, Al Ezzel Power
Company, completed a $380 million limited-recourse financing for the construction of the
first-ever private power plant in Bahrain. The $500 million plant produces more than
950MW of power per day. HSBC and Societe Generale led the loan, which also included
ANZ, Bayerische Landesbank, Calyon, Gulf International Bank, ING, Mashreqbank,
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