President of EWA: Launching “Kafa'a", the National Programme to Reduce Energy Consumption in Buildings
in Partnership with Specialist Companies
His Excellency Engineer Kamal bin Ahmed Mohammed, President of the Electricity and Water Authority (EWA) underscored the Authority's commitment to implementing its strategic plans to increase energy efficiency and reduce electricity consumption, in line with national efforts to achieve net zero by 2060.
HE confirmed that following the approval of Cabinet, chaired by His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, the national programme "Kafa'a" will be launched to reduce electricity consumption in buildings in private and public sectors in the Kingdom.
HE explained that EWA is prepared to launch the Kafa'a programme, in cooperation with Energy Service Companies (ESCOs), to increase the efficiency of energy consumption in government buildings. Kafa'a aims to save electricity consumption by around 975 GWh and reduce carbon emissions by about 488,000 tonnes by 2040. The programme will also contribute to flattening energy usage during peak hours, which will mitigate the need for additional generation capacity.
HE Kamal Ahmed Mohammed underscored the important role of the programme in raising awareness about energy efficiency. He clarified that a tendering process will begin for ESCOs to audit the energy consumption of the selected buildings. Then, energy efficiency upgrades will be implemented in the buildings, while monitoring and verifying the impact. The programme will also provide financing solutions to public sector customers.
He added that ESCOs can contribute significantly to improving energy efficiency and conserving energy resources, as well as achieving the goals of the Kingdom of Bahrain in its commitments to achieve net zero by 2060.
Last year, EWA completed a pilot project to improve the energy efficiency of four government buildings in cooperation with ESCOs. The results showed that energy consumption was reduced by 41 percent annually, while bills decreased by 39 percent and carbon emissions were reduced by 5,430 tonnes.