Jeddah - MENA Herald: GE Energy Management (NYSE: GE) is showcasing an advanced range of innovative solutions for a smart, reliable and resilient grid at the Saudi Arabia Smart Grid Conference & Exhibition 2015, organized under the patronage of His Excellency Eng. Abdullah Bin Abdulrahman Al Hussein, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Water & Electricity, at the Hilton Hotel, Jeddah from December 7 to 9, 2015.
Through its participation, GE is underlining its enhanced competencies in the smart grid industry with a more complete offer to provide better outcomes for customers. The solutions on display include smart grid technologies that will help GE’s Saudi customers to optimize the performance of their assets, and strengthen the efficiency and reliability of their grid.
“The outdated, one-way, linear, passive approach in power delivery is now evolving towards an open, interactive, interconnected model. This transformation has been made possible by the improvements in information and communications technology. As a digital industrial company, we are leading the development of digital solutions to create intelligent networks known as ‘smart grids’ that have tremendous potential for growth in the Kingdom to meet its development vision,” said Hisham Al Bahkali, President & CEO GE Saudi Arabia & Bahrain.
He added: “Smart grids are redefining the way power sector efficiency and reliability is strengthened to benefit the people. With an enhanced range of capabilities, GE’s Grid Solutions business is bringing innovative technologies to the Kingdom that can help reduce investment costs by 20 percent through intelligent and predictive management. Smart grids will become the cornerstone of the new energy model that GE is supporting.”
GE’s showcase at Saudi Arabia Smart Grid 2015 includes solutions to monitor, analyze and optimize the entire grid network with some of these already deployed by customers in the region, including in Saudi Arabia. For example, WAMS, a system that combines measurement units across a transmission grid and online stability software, enables customers to monitor and detect power fluctuations in their network in real-time to prevent black-out risks. iDMS, already used in Saudi Arabia, helps to optimize grid management in real-time and minimize energy loss; it also helps to integrate energy resources for smart buildings and in linking renewable energy sources.
The smart grid technologies presented by GE also include demos of comprehensive asset management solutions for aggregating and storing all asset-related data for monitoring the status of equipment, assessing the needs for maintenance and replacement, and for better control of operation expenditure.
GE will also take part in the Conference, with Bryan Friehauf, Asset Management Executive Product Line Leader, speaking on ‘Managing the life cycle of your complex networks’ on Dec. 8 at 11:30am, and Simon Richards, Product Marketing Director, talking on ‘The next generation of smart substation,’ on Dec. 8 at 1pm.
GE’s Grid Solutions business offers an enhanced portfolio of smart grid technologies in the region that is delivered through local presence such as the Smart Grid Center in Dubai. This first-of-its-kind center in the region is interconnected with the Smart Grid Centers of Excellence in France and USA to perform integration and acceptance tests for all Smart Grid applications to be deployed in the Middle East. It also extends training to GE customers on a secured replicate network on configurations and systems that they can manage on their own sites.
GE has successfully implemented smart grid projects across the Gulf region, with iDMS deployed in Kuwait and Bahrain, the distribution asset management implemented in Qatar, and the WAMS solution implemented in GCCIA and Bahrain. GE has completed the network management system that connects the energy systems of the six member states of Gulf Cooperation Council Interconnection Authority (GCCIA) , as well as the Gulf region’s largest HVDC (High Voltage Direct Current) converter station (3x600 MW) in Saudi Arabia.
With a presence of over 80 years, three offices and seven facilities, Saudi Arabia accounts for the largest GE workforce in the Middle East with over 2,000 employees driving the healthcare, transportation, power, oil & gas, water and aviation businesses. GE is focused on taking its work into the next industrial era with technological solutions that create economic and social value to the country and its people.
