Five Subiya power station workers were injured over the weekend when the external structure of a huge boiler cover exploded . "The injured were transferred to the hospital for medical treatment. The extent of their actual injuries was not specified yet," said Dr Meshan Al-Otaibi, the Ministry of Electricity and Water's (MEW) Assistant Undersecretary for Planning and Training. Dr Al-Otaibi was speaking during the press conference held by the ministry, which is set to complete work shortly on the project to provide an electrical connection between the electrical installations department and Kuwait Municipality.

This project aims to eliminate the violations carried out in the construction of new homes," the assistant undersecretary explained. "The ministry is cooperating with the Municipality to allocate engineering offices for the complete supervision of building and construction. These offices will be fully responsible for any violation or mistake from the beginning of construction work until the electricity is connected.

A number of qualified engineering consultancies are already authorized by the ministry, with the new project being the latest addition. "The Ministry will demand additional condition for these offices to qualify, which is to have an electrical engineer on site at the office," Dr. Al-Otaibi continued, adding, "These procedures will be applied within two months.

Talking about the advantages of the new office, the senior MEW official said, "This project will save people time as they will deal directly with the engineering office and will not have to visit the municipality ministry building all the time. Instead, the engineering office will be responsible for dealing with all the authorities.

The MEW is also ready to supply all the new planned residential housing estates with electricity, he explained. "The Ministry is carrying out its plan to increase the energy production by 6,000 megawatts, equal to 50 percent of the power output, within four years. This power will be enough to supply all the new cities with electricity," he pointed out.

The Ministry is also preparing to introduce three strategies to reduce electricity consumption levels, Dr. Al-Otaibi revealed. "The Ministry will apply building criteria when constructing the buildings, apply loads management systems, and install pre-paid meters," he said, adding that it "will also work on renewing and improving the old stations to supply the production. - Kuwait Times