Schneider Electric’s role in the Gulf’s water and wastewater sector has been widespread and ‘impactful” with leadership across several industry sectors as a global specialist in energy management, a senior official says.

“The company has a good presence in the public water industry cycle from source (desalination plants and wells) to water discharge and reuse,” commented Omar Al Ayoubi, Schneider Electric Saudi Arabia’s water and wastewater manager for end user business group-industry business.

“The impact Schneider Electric has made through its projects in the GCC region can be exemplified by the Alhassa Fully Automated Irrigation System project (Saudi Arabia). We successfully changed the project scope by replacing the water canals with PVC pipes and using manual pumps operating to a fully automated system. This enabled Alhassa Irrigation Authority to monitor each farm usage and control water distribution 24/7 with minimum human interference,” said Al Ayoubi.

Areas the company has successfully impacted are water pumping stations, wastewater lifting stations, sewage water treatment plants, industrial waste treatment plants and brackish water treatment plants. In all of these, Al Ayoubi said, Schneider Electric was able to deliver solutions in the shape of MV and LV electrical equipment Scada and automation systems that help major GCC water end users in their day-to-day operations.

Since 2012 Schneider Electric has become a major player in developing smart cities with much of the growth being inorganic following the acquisition of several solution companies that complement and complete its traditional business and product offering.

In water management, its offering in implementation of the smart water network focuses on active leak detection and pressure and quality management as well as on integrating under one platform different components such as HM, LD systems, ERP and GIS.

Moreover, Schneider Electric has the capability to implement and calibrate AQUIS (hydraulic model) for distribution and sewage networks.

“Our main reference in the Gulf region is the Master Scada for Doha’s distribution network where we implemented our technology in Scada – PLC – RTU for the entire drinkable water network of the city which has a population of over 1.2 million people. In addition, we drive the consultancy of non-revenue water for Doha, attacking real losses and apparent losses. We have capability to execute the re-zoning phase of Doha and are calibrating a third-party hydraulic model for a transmission pipeline,” said Al Ayoubi.

Al Ayoubi: Schneider reaching out with leadership and innovations

Schneider electric has won several water, wastewater and irrigation projects. As well as Alhassa’s fully automated irrigation system, projects where it supplied end-to-end solutions are the Madinah SWTP Phase 2, Sadara SWRO, Al Fujairah WTP and the Tabuk Alshamel Project (all in Saudi Arabia except the Al Fujairah WTP which is in Fujairah, UAE).

As a manufacturer and solutions provider, Schneider Electric makes products that cover all its clients’ needs across the energy platform. Core to this offering are its energy management and efficiency solutions that achieve savings in capital and operational expenditure for its customers.

“We advise our clients to use variable speed drive systems for pumping applications instead of the conventional Soft Starter or Direct Online arrangement,” said Al Ayoubi. He explained that this approach reduces the footprint of the overall electrical panel and the size of the electrical cable and equipment while achieving energy savings of up to 30 per cent. The move also enables full automatic remote operations, terminates water hammering (soft stopping) and increases electrical protection and
environmental safety.

“In Schneider Electric’s water solutions, a great example of our work is the implementation of a leak detection system installed by Qatar’s Kahramaa under a conservation programme. The system has significantly reduced leakages and,  as it expands its distribution network, it can be expanded across more points,” he pointed out.

Al Ayoubi also commented on Schneider Electric’s EcoStruxure and Performance Contracting solutions in the Gulf states. “Our Ecostruxure solution for water is an integrated system architecture, which makes water and wastewater management efficient. The solution can be used in either small pumping stations or complex water management plants.  It can save up to 30 per cent in operating and design costs thanks to management expertise.

“With EcoStruxure and Schneider Electric’s ability to deliver performance contracts we have become the most preferred, trusted energy efficiency partner and advisor for most end users in the GCC region.”