Saleh Mohammed al-Alawi

Position: Chairman, Authority for Electricity Regulation (AER), Oman

Biography: The Council of Ministers approved Saleh Mohammed al-Alawi’s appointment as a member and chairman of the AER in March 2005. In February 2008, he was elected to serve a second three-year term. Al-Alawi is leading the authority’s drive to generate a greater proportion of Oman’s electricity from renewable resources, through solar and wind farms. He is an associate professor at Sultan Qaboos University in Oman, where he has held a variety of teaching and research posts, including head of the electrical and computer engineering department. His research interests include optimisation, artificial intelligence applications in engineering and business, and forecasting. Al-Alawi completed his higher education in the US, gaining a PhD in engineering management from Missouri University of Science & Technology (then University of Missouri-Rolla) in 1993.

Contact Tel: (+968) 2460 9700

Yousif Janahi

Position: Chairman, GCC Interconnection Authority

Biography: Yousef Janahi is chairman of the board of directors of the GCC Interconnection Authority, which was set up in 2001 to regulate the use of the GCC power grid once it is established. Janahi is also manager for corporate planning and business development at Qatar’s General Electricity & Water Corporation (Kahramaa), having joined its corporate predecessor, the Electricity & Water Ministry, in 1985. He has been instrumental in opening up the state’s power and water sector to private investors, working on the Ras Laffan A independent water and power project (IWPP), the Ras Abu Fontas B1 power purchase agreement and the privatisation of Kahramaa’s production assets. He subsequently led the Ras Laffan B, Ras Abu Fontas B2, Mesaieed A and Ras Laffan C IWPPs. Janahi holds a degree in electrical engineering from Arizona University in the US.

Contact Tel: (+966) 3882 6801

Hafez Abdel el-Salmawy

Position: Managing director, Egyptian Electric Utility & Consumer Protection Regulatory Agency (Egyptera)

Biography: Hafez Abdel el-Salmawy was appointed managing director of Egyptera, Egypt’s electricity regulator, in December 2006. He is responsible for overseeing Egypt’s nuclear power programme. He is also active in the field of energy conservation, working as a consultant engineer on international commercial and research projects. He has a background in mechanical engineering, obtaining a doctorate from Cairo University. Since 1981, he has held various teaching positions in the mechanical power engineering department at Zagazig University in Egypt, where he is an assistant professor. Egyptera was set up in 2001 to regulate and supervise the generation, transmission, distribution and consumption of electricity, and is responsible for issuing licences to private generation and distribution companies.

Contact Tel: (+202) 342 1475

Nick Carter

Position: Director general, Regulation & Supervision Bureau (RSB), Abu Dhabi

Biography: Nick Carter joined Abu Dhabi’s power regulator, RSB, as director general in 2001. He is a fellow of the UK’s Institution of Engineering & Technology (IET). Educated at University College London, Insead and the London Business School, he has spent most of his working life in utility management, holding executive-level positions at UK power companies London Electricity and Southern Electricity, where his roles included network management and the provision and delivery of major capital projects. He was also involved in acquisition projects in the south of England, when the domestic gas and electricity markets were liberalised in the late 1990s. Carter joined the water and electricity unbundling team for Abu Dhabi in 1998, and the following year was appointed deputy chairman and managing director of Abu Dhabi Distribution Company.

Contact Tel: (+971) 2642 6777

Hisham Khatib

Position: Chairman, Electricity Regulatory Commission (ERC), Jordan

Biography: Hisham Khatib has worked in the energy sector for more than 50 years. Prior to taking up the chairmanship at Jordan’s power regulator, the ERC, he held a series of ministerial postings in the Jordanian government including planning minister, water and irrigation minister and energy and mineral resources minister. Khatib also served as director general of the Jordan Electricity Authority and was a senior energy expert for the Arab Fund for Economic & Social Development in Kuwait. Khatib has been an active member of the London-headquartered World Energy Council (WEC) for more than 30 years, serving as vice-chairman between 1989 and 1992, and being elected an honorary vice-chairman at the end of his term. He was awarded the council’s Global Energy Award in 2007. Khatib regularly lecturers on energy and the environment, and has authored three books.

Contact Tel: (+962) 6580 5000

Fareed Zedan

Position: Governor, Electricity & Co-generation Regulatory Authority (Ecra), Saudi Arabia

Biography: Fareed Zedan has been governor of Saudi Arabia’s power regulator since 2001. Ecra is responsible for the regulation and restructuring of the power sector, including tariff reform, licensing and encouraging private sector participation and investment. The authority operates under the Electricity Law, which was drafted by Ecra and adopted in November 2005. Ecra is supervised by a board of directors chaired by the water and electricity minister, with the governor of the authority acting as deputy chairman. Other board members include representatives of the Finance, Petroleum & Mineral Resources, Commerce & Industry and Economy & Planning ministries. Zedan is a professor in electrical engineering at King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. He has a doctorate in high-voltage power systems from Southern California University.

Contact Tel: (+966) 1201 9009