Jim_Krane]_Energy_Kingdoms__Oil_and_Political_Sur

UNNATURALLY COOL71

In Kuwait, power demand in citizen homes has reached levels that
beggar belief. A typical Kuwaiti family occupies a 6,000- square- foot
villa, with live- in staff and sometimes an extended family. In such homes,
average consumption is 110,000 kWh per year,^10 more than nine times the
average US household demand of 12,000 kWh/y and an incredible thirty-
six times the power consumed by the average German household, which
uses just over 3,000 kWh/y.^11 Kuwaiti citizen households alone consume
48 percent of the country’s total electricity output, far outpacing the more
numerous expatriates (17 percent) as well as the commercial/governmental
sector (28 percent) and industrial users (7 percent).
The seasonality of demand, with huge summer peaks that might see
twice as much consumed as in winter, adds to the expense of power gen-
eration in the Gulf by mandating investment in infrastructure that is
only used a few months per year.

0

20,000 40,000 60,000 80,000 100,000120,000

New Zealand

Sweden

Finland

Canada

United States

Norway

UAE

Saudi Arabia

Qatar

Kuwait (all households)

Kuwait (citizen households) 100% fossil fuel
100% fossil fuel
100% fossil fuel
100% fossil fuel
99% fossil fuel
2% fossil fuel
67% fossil fuel
18% fossil fuel
22% fossil fuel
2% fossil fuel
20% fossil fuel

kWh/year

FIGURE 5.2 Top ten countries ranked by 2014 household electricity demand.

Kuwait’s average household consumption in 2016 (foreign and citizen customers) is provided

alongside that of citizen households only. Among the top ten, only the Gulf monarchies and

the United States consumed electricity that was generated predominantly by fossil fuels.

Fossil fuel proportion is for 2014 or 2015.

Sources: Consumption data: World Energy Council 2016, Kuwait Ministry of

Electricity and Water; World Bank World Development Indicators database (2017).