A grand mosque in Riyadh was wasting 70 percent of the electricity it used, a study conducted by the Ministry of Water and Electricity has found. Further tests will be conducted in the Kingdom's 20,000 mosques to assess the use of power, Abdullah Bin Abdul Rahman Al-Hussayyen, Minister of Water and Electricity, said here Sunday. The experiment was conducted in Al-Araija grand mosque in Riyadh, where it was found that all air-conditioners and lights were turned on even if there was only one person in the mosque or if worshippers were in one or two rows and the rest of the mosque was empty. “The model we have implemented in Al-Araija grand mosque involved switching off air-conditioning for the rear rows,” said Al-Hussayyen, who thanked the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Endowments, Call and Guidance for their cooperation and assistance. “We operated eight air-conditioners instead of 28 and this did not affect prayer in the mosque or the worshippers.” If other mosques are found to be wasting electricity, the plan developed after the experiment in Riyadh will be implemented and it will be used when new grand mosques are constructed, he said. While officials are working to save electricity at the grand mosque, the nationwide demand and work to provide are proceeding at a rapid pace, Al-Hussayyen said. The Kingdom's annual increase in electricity consumption has reached 10 percent, which is equivalent to 4,000 megawatts – the entire electricity consumption in some countries, said Al-Hussayyen, who noted that SR40 billion is spent annually on electricity generation, transmission and distribution. Meeting demand for electricity has been improved by link-ups that connect 95 percent of the Kingdom's cities and make it possible for cities with surpluses to supply areas where there are shortages, he said. The amount of work being done to provide electricity and water is such that the Ministry of Electricity and Water signs three contracts every day for execution, supervision and supply, said Al-Hussayyen. The projects reach SR1 billion per month and projects worth SR60 billion, including purification and treatment plants, networks, dams and strategic storage, are being executed, he added. There is no problem securing water and electricity for the large projects being executed in Makkah and water is pumped to the Central Area around the clock, Al-Hussayen added. Water consumption in Makkah has risen from 280,000 cubic meters of water pumped per day last year to 500,000 cubic meters per day this year, he said. Al-Hussayyen said the contract to construct Ras Al-Zor Desalination and Generation Plant, which will supply Riyadh, Hafr Al-Batin and Al-Ne'airiah regions and nearby cities at a cost of SR25 billion, will soon be signed.
