WA4 - Electricity Interconnections and Market Integration

The Working Group consists of a number of selected qualified experts from the EU and the GCC regions with proven professional and/or research record in the specific field, thus capable of contributing and participating in collaboration activities including:

  • know-how and technology transfer,
  • policies discussion,
  • examination of state-of-the art technologies,
  • best practices discussion and promotion,
  • research collaboration,
  • dissemination and promotion of relevant demonstration projects,
  • and facilitation and promotion of relevant EU-GCC cooperation initiatives and projects.
 
Members of the Working Group will be able to follow closely the group activities that are launched. Indicative benefits include:
  • invitation for participation in thematic working events, network meetings, training seminars as well as web-meetings, and
  • personal account in the private experts collaboration Area within the Network web-platform.

The Electricity Interconnection and Market Integration workgroup will have an interesting list of topics to be debated, researched and agreed among the members of the workgroup; the interest stems from the fact that the workgroup subjects will have to be multi-disciplined covering technical, financial, legal and regulatory, especially since the GCC States have different Electricity Sector business environments.

According to the WG discussions and consultations held so far, areas for potential EU GCC cooperation activities are the following:

Regulation of electricity markets in the GCC.

-Learning from the EU experience.

-How has the phased approach employed in the European target model worked in the EU?

-Electricity Market Aspects: How to introduce market mechanisms in the GCC on a national and regional level.

The role of Transmission System Operators in cross border electricity trade.

-How such a model could be developed in the Middle East.

Intra-country connections.

Integrating RES into the grid.

-Grid Operation with higher share of non dispatchable electricity sources.

-Forecasting for improving operational integration of varying RES.

-Grid connection issues: RES are often distributed and located away from load. centres or grid infrastructure.

-Reinforce the interconnections among GCC countries and with neighbouring countries.

Interconnection expandability – High Voltage Interconnection vision for use and expansion.

-Technical Aspects of RE integration

-Interconnections GCC è MEDRING è ENTSO-E , MED Reg.

Development of effective wholesale GCC power market.
Energy only regional markets or with market coupling.
Quantifying the impact on CO2 emissions by the introduction of integrated markets.

Nicholas Carter

WA4 Convener

Nick Carter is a Director and Senior Advisor with PwC for the Middle East. He is currently undertaking a range of utility projects in a number of GCC countries and lives and works in the UAE.