The UAE should immediately and seriously put other forms of energy in its mix because there is not enough gas to feed the country's growing demand for power.

According to Khalid Al Awadi, a Dubai-based independent energy expert, the global financial crisis has very little impact on the electricity demand load and the increase in demand will continue to grow.

To address this, the emirate would have to secure more gas – a task, which is unlikely to bear fruit given the gas shortage throughout the Middle East (except Qatar and Iran).

"With the way things are going right now – Qatar's moratorium and Iran's stubborn stance – I doubt that the UAE will be able to secure more gas. There is no third supplier," Al Awadi told Emirates Business.

"There was a promising supply from Abu Dhabi but that barely meets local demand growth," he added. "There are many industries in the UAE that need energy in the form of electricity like aluminium, ceramics and cement, which heavily depend on electricity.

"Gas is not a solution because there will not be enough gas. We should divert into nuclear or coal or solar," he said.

Al Awadi, who is also a gas operations manager at a Dubai Government-owned petroleum firm, said the current gas shortage has led the government to turn down a number of good business proposals. "Gas is a pressing issue here because we are turning down good industry due to the shortage of energy. We should not depend on natural gas," he added.

Despite the gas shortage, Al Awadi said there is enough electricity generation as the emirate can use other forms of energy such as diesel fuel oil, which is not only dirtier but is also more expensive to extract.

"Dubai and UAE as a whole has no shortage in generation at all," he said. "There is a problem of distribution in the Northern Emirates, under the federation management, because the population and property growth went three to four times the normal growth which is too much for the planning department in the federation to cope with."

His comments complements statements made by Saeed Mohammed Ahmad Al Tayer, CEO and Managing Director of Dewa, that there is no shortage of electricity. "Last year, we met the peak requirement with about 1,200MW as a reserve," he told Emirates Business.