MINISTER OF ELECTRICITY AND WATER UPDATES ON

C O N F I D E N T I A L MANAMA 001487

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/ARPI

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/25/2014
TAGS: ECON PGOV BA ENGR
SUBJECT: MINISTER OF ELECTRICITY AND WATER UPDATES ON
INVESTIGATION INTO BLACKOUT

REF: MANAMA 1319

Classified By: Ambassador William T. Monroe
for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (U) The Minister of Electricity and Water Shaikh Abdulla
bin Salman Al Khalifa discussed with the Ambassador on
September 20 Bahrain's water supply and the investigation
into the recent national electricity blackout. Shaikh Abdulla
stated that Bahrain's aquifer is becoming increasingly salty.
He added that one third of Bahrain's water supply comes from
the aquifer and two thirds from its desalination plants. He
explained that Bahrain has two desalination plants operating
at full capacity (60 million gallons per day each) and in
2006 a planned third desalination plant will come on line
with a capacity of 97 million gallons per day. In response
to the Ambassador's question, the Minister explained that the
tendering process for the construction of the plant will be
open and he welcomed all interested American companies to
bid.


2. (C) Shaikh Abdulla told the Ambassador that the
investigation into the national blackout was ongoing
(reftel). He added that the Prime Minister requested that
Minister of Foreign Affairs Shaikh Mohammed bin Mubarak Al
Khalifa review the investigative report and present its
findings. Shaikh Abdulla blamed the national blackout on
aluminum manufacturer ALBA, claiming that the company
switched 320 megawatts of power from its internal grid onto
the national grid, causing a surge that triggered the safety
shut-down of Bahrain's main power plant.
ZIADEH