Qatar Electricity & Water Co.


Qatar Electricity and Water Company (QEWC) was established in 1990 as a public shareholding company, in accordance with the provisions of the Qatari Commercial Companies Law, for the purpose of owning and operating power and water plants, and to sell its products. The Company is one among the first private sector companies in the region that operate in the field of electricity generation and water desalination.

The capital of the company at the time of incorporation was QR 1 billion distributed into 100 million shares QR 10 per share. Based on the decision of the Extraordinary General Meeting of February 25, 2014 to distribute ten million free shares to shareholders, one share for every ten shares held, the capital of the company has been modified to one billion one hundred million Qatari riyals, distributed into one hundred and ten million fully paid shares, where the government of the State of Qatar and its affiliated institutions own approximately 60% of the capital, and the rest of the corporate and individual shareholders own about 40%. Based on the decision of the Extraordinary General Assembly of March 6, 2019, the nominal value of the shares was changed to become one Riyal instead of ten Riyals, and thus the number of shares became one billion and one hundred million shares. The company is managed by an eleven-member board of directors headed by His Excellency Eng. Saad Bin Sherida Al Kaabi, Minister of State for Energy Affairs.

Qatar Electricity and Water Company is one of the largest companies in the field of electricity production and water desalination in the Middle East and North Africa Region, and it is the main provider of electricity and desalinated water in the State of Qatar. The company has experienced remarkable growth over the past decade in line with the steady growth of the Qatari economy, population increase and corresponding increase in demand for electricity and water. The company’s total assets amount to approximately QR 28 billion and the production capacity owned by the company and joint ventures is 10,590 MW of electricity, and 543 MIGD of water.

It is worth mentioning that Qatar Electricity and Water Company obtained, on May 17, 2022, the ROSPA Gold Award certificate at the annual ceremony held by the British Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (ROSPA), which is considered a non-profit, humanitarian association linked to technical cooperation with NEBOSH the international organization specialized in Safety and Security.

The Company’s Projects

The company owns and operates a number of the key electricity generation and water desalination plants.

Ras Abu Fontas Plant (A)

Production capacity of 497 megawatt of electricity and 55 million of water gallons per day.


Ras Abu Fontas Plant (A1)

Production capacity of 45 million of water gallons per day.


Ras Abu Fontas Plant (A2)

Production capacity of 36 million of water gallons per day.


Ras Abu Fontas Plant (B)

Production capacity of 609 megawatt of electricity and 33 million of water gallons per day.


Ras Abu Fontas Plant (B1)

Production capacity of 376.5 MW of electricity.


Ras Abu Fontas Plant (B2)

Production capacity of 567 MW of electricity and 30 million of water gallons per day.





The company also owns and operates the following sub-stations

Dukhan Desalination Plant: with a capacity of 2 million of water gallons per day.

In addition, the company holds share in all domestic electricity generation and water desalination companies as follows:

80% in the Ras Laffan Power Company Limited, which has the capacity of 756 MW of electricity and 40 million gallon of water per day. In addition, QEWC has full ownership of the Ras Laffan Operating Company.

55% in the Qatar Power Company, which has the capacity of 1,025 MW of electricity and 60 million gallon of water per day.

40% in Mesaieed Power Company, which has the capacity of 2,007 MW of electricity.

45% in Ras Girtas Power Company, which is the largest power generation project in the region with a capacity of 2,730 MW of electricity and 63 million gallon of water per day.

60% in Nebras Company.

Company Projects

The company owns and operates a number of key electricity generation and water desalination plants. They are as follows:
  1. Ras Abu Fontas A1: Production capacity of 45 MIGD of water.
  2. Ras Abu Fontas A2: Production capacity of 36 MIGD of water.
  3. Ras Abu Fontas A3: Production capacity of 36 MIGD of water.
  4. Ras Abu Fontas B: Production capacity of 609 MW of electricity and 33 MIGD of water.
  5. Ras Abu Fontas B1: Production capacity of 376.5 MW of electricity.
  6. Ras Abu Fontas B2: Production capacity of 567 MW of electricity and 30 MIGD of water.
  7. Dukhan desalination plant: Production capacity of 2 MIGD of water. The plant was shut down by the end of 2022 at the request of QatarEnergy.
Furthermore, the company holds shares in domestic electricity generation and water desalination companies as follows:
  • 80% in Ras Laffan Power Company Limited, which has a capacity of 756 MW of electricity and 40 MIGD of water. In addition, QEWC has full ownership of Ras Laffan Operating Company.
  • 55% in Qatar Power Company, which has a capacity of 1,025 MW of electricity and 60 MIGD of water.
  • 40% in Mesaieed Power Company, which has a capacity of 2,007 MW of electricity.
  • 45% in Ras Girtas Power Company, which is the largest power generation project in the region with a capacity of 2,730 MW of electricity and 63 MIGD of water.
  • 100% in Nebras Power Company.
  • 60% of Umm Al Houl Power Company, with a production capacity of 2,520 megawatts of electricity and 198 million gallons of water per day
  • 49% of Siraj Energy Company, engaged in production of electricity using solar energy, which has a production capacity of 800 MW of electricity. During the fourth quarter of 2022, it was agreed to sell the company’s entire stake in Siraj Energy to QatarEnergy.

Investments of the company and Future plans


The company and its subsidiaries continued with predetermined expansion plans and succeeded in increasing their production capacity locally and diversifying investments. The company has completed a number of projects such as the Umm Al Houl Power Plant Expansion Project and the Al Kharsaah Solar Power Plant Project, which is the first project of Siraj Energy Company and has been officially inaugurated on October 18, 2022, with a production capacity of 800 MW of electricity.

With regard to projects abroad, the company is also looking, through its foreign investment arm, Nebras Power, to expand into global markets. The company, through its wholly owned subsidiary, Ras Laffan Operating Company, purchased Qatar Holding Company’s 40% stake in Nebras Power Company, and so now Nebras Power Company is fully owned by the QEWC. Nebras Power was able to enhance its investments and increase its assets by expanding its portfolio in the countries in which it has investments, and expanding its presence by entering many new markets in Asia, Latin America and Australia. These new investment additions provide Nebras with access to developing markets and enhance the “energy technology” mix in its portfolio in terms of natural gas-based and renewable projects.

The future plans for the company’s investments aim to keep pace with the growing demand for electricity and water by establishing stations with a large production capacity, and other stations that operate with renewable energy such as solar energy, and energy produced from waste to create a diversity of energy sources.

Main Features and Attractions

The company is characterized by stability and low risk due to its investment in the infrastructure and utilities sector of Qatar. Company’s shares are stable, with the possibility of a potential increase in market value, especially due to the noticeable improvements in the local economy and the completion of projects outside Qatar. The stable dividend distribution is also one of the positive contributing factors to making the company shares attractive. The most important factors contributing to the company’s success are:

  • QEWC provides a guaranteed flow of revenue through the Power and Water Purchase Agreements with Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation (KAHRAMAA).
  • The company maintains long-term contracts for the supply of fuel to all plants based on the agreements signed with QatarEnergy, which ensures the stability of the fuel cost and is the largest component of the variable operating cost. QatarEnergy is one of the primary and certified sources to supply natural gas either in gaseous or liquefied gas form to many countries in the world. This ensures high reliability to the power and water plants of the company for the supply of gas and high thermal efficiency to meet international environmental standards.
  • Due to the experience and reputation accumulated since its foundation in 1990, QEWC has expanded outside Qatar, North Africa and the Middle East as well as East Asian markets. With the implementation of successful projects in these markets, the company’s status may rise further.
  • Another contributing factor is the company’s balanced policy in distributing profits annually is in line with the company’s financial performance.

Fiscal policy


The company adopts a long-term policy to increase operating revenue, which is confirmed by the results achieved, thanks to good operating efficiency and optimal control over production costs, resulting in better financial results over the years. This enabled the company to pay shareholders higher dividends every year and it has reflected positively on the share price of the company in the local market, by showing stability in price and not be affected by market fluctuations. The company adopted a balanced policy regarding the distribution of profits considering its financial commitments and requirement to finance new projects.

Social responsibility


The company believes in its role and responsibility in the development and advancement of society, and the preservation of the environment, through its effective and serious participation in the corporate social responsibility system. The company also provides support and donations to several health, educational, cultural, artistic, social, humanitarian, sports and environmental centres and institutions, in addition to sponsoring and supporting some scientific and intellectual conferences and seminars, that aims to serve and develop civil society institutions with its various activities and goals. The company’s total contributions for such activities during the year amounted to QR 1,339,825 (QR one million three hundred and thirty-nine thousand eight hundred and twenty-five only) during the year 2022.

Company’s credit rating


Moody’s reaffirmed the company’s overall credit rating as A1 for the year 2022, the same as last year’s rating.

Conclusion

The company is committed to working on the development of its activities and projects in accordance with the highest international standards and practices while continuing to adhere to the principles of disclosure and transparency to the public and shareholders and achieving higher profit for the shareholders of the company. The company has achieved high levels of performance, that contributed to the continuation of its role in effectively supporting the comprehensive development of the country, which reflected positively on the financial results and dividends. The company rely on strong financial standards, confidence granted to it by the shareholders and esteemed board of directors and a highly qualified staff base, that shows a high team spirit to achieve the company’s goals and dreams.