The Gulf Cooperation Council International Authority (GCCIA) has successfulyl launched its North Grid system. This project brings state-of-the-art high voltage direct current (HVDC) and energy management systems (EMS) to the Gulf region, in order to interconnect the power grids of the Gulf Cooperative Council member countries, marking a major milestone in the development of the region. The phase one project has interconnected the northern countries of Kuwait, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Qatar, with the interconnection of United Arab Emirates and Oman to follow later during Phase two and Phase three projects. Areva T&D designed and built the 3-pole 1800 MW 400 kV HVDC A-Fadhili converter station in Saudi Arabia, and an integrated automation solution including e-terra Energy Management Systems (EMS) and substation MiCOM protection relays and PACiS control system for the entire six-country GCCIA network. Essential to this system is the Control Center, located in Ghunan, Saudi Arabia, which manages the flow of energy not only to the new substations built for Phase one, but also manages the energy interconnection and exchange throughout each GCC member country.
