Rounds are fixed and repeated
Operators walk the same route each shift: turbine hall, fuel-gas skid, water treatment, control room. A handset that logs readings and photographs at each stop turns the round into data.
Bahrain · Power & Desalination
Explosion proof mobile phone for power and desalination in Bahrain
Bahrain's power and water plants are gas-fired and clustered on the coast, so an explosion proof mobile phone in Bahrain's power sector is mostly a question about fuel-gas areas, turbine halls and the contractors who maintain them. This page covers the independent plants at Al Dur and Hidd, the state-owned stations and what the IS-04Z1 is designed for there. The IS-04Z1 is designed around intrinsic safety rather than a flameproof enclosure.
Launching Q4 2026 · IECEx and BSMD programme in progress
Local approvalBSMD · IECExIECEx · BSMD in progress
AvailabilityQ4 2026via authorised distributors
The sector · Power and desalination
Explosion proof mobile phone for Bahrain's power and desalination plants
Bahrain generates electricity from natural gas and the Electricity and Water Authority (EWA) buys power and water from independent producers as well as running its own stations. Al Dur Power and Water Company operates the Al Dur plants on the south-east coast, Al Ezzel Power Company is at the Hidd Industrial Estate, and Hidd Power Company runs the Hidd power and water station. EWA also has Sitra power and water assets, and trade press reports it prequalifying bidders for a new Sitra independent water and power project and a standalone Hidd seawater reverse osmosis plant.
Desalination is not itself a classified process, which surprises people. The classified areas are the fuel-gas supply, the turbines and the hydrogen or battery systems that a power plant carries. A desalination hall next door may be an ordinary area.
Operators and authorities
- Electricity and Water Authority
- State offtaker and owner of the Sitra and other stations.
- Al Dur Power and Water Company
- Independent power and water producer on the south-east coast.
- Al Ezzel Power Company
- Combined-cycle plant at the Hidd Industrial Estate.
- Hidd Power Company
- Hidd power and water station.
- Alba power stations
- Self-generation at the smelter; see explosion proof phone for aluminium and metals in Bahrain.
Classified and ordinary areas
- Fuel-gas pressure reduction
- Skids and filters between the supply line and the turbines.
- Gas turbine halls
- Enclosures with fuel-gas pipework; ventilation and detection decide the zoning.
- Hydrogen-cooled generators
- Where generators use hydrogen, a group IIC gas.
- Battery and electrolysis plant
- Battery rooms and hypochlorite generation can vent hydrogen.
- Desalination halls
- Largely ordinary areas, with chemical dosing handled separately.
- Switchyard and control building
- Safe areas, but the walk between them may cross classified ones.
How work runs · Power
How a power plant is operated, and what it asks of a handset
Outages are planned around summer demand
Major maintenance is scheduled outside the peak cooling season, so contractor numbers spike in cooler months. Enrolment at that scale is a console job.
Coastal air and humidity
These plants draw seawater for cooling and desalination, so salt air and humidity are constant. IP68 sealing is the design answer to splash and wash-down.
Hydrogen sets the demanding gas group
Where hydrogen is present at generators or battery rooms it is group IIC. The Ex ib IIC T4 marking target is written to cover it.
Each plant is its own company
Al Dur, Al Ezzel and Hidd are separate legal entities with separate procurement, so an approval at one is not an approval at another.
Use cases · Power and desalination
Where the IS-04Z1 would be used at a power plant
Operations01
Fuel-gas skid inspections
An operator logs readings at a pressure reduction skid, photographs a leaking flange and calls the control room, in an area classified around the gas supply.
Maintenance02
Turbine outages
A vendor service engineer and a contractor crew share a turbine hall during an outage. Enrolled handsets carry the permit and the work pack and are removed at demobilisation.
Water03
Desalination and dosing rounds
The same handset is used in ordinary desalination areas and in the fuel-gas areas next door, so the console and applications do not change between them.
Approvals · Power and desalination
What the operators will ask of a supplier
The IS-04Z1 is pre-launch (Q4 2026) and no certificate has been issued; IECEx, ATEX, NEC 500 and BSMD work is in progress. SAMS has no relationship with EWA or any plant named here.
Bahrain's Tender Board publishes public tenders and a list of prequalified vendors, and EWA publishes prequalification forms for its own purchasing. The independent plants are private companies with their own procurement, so ask each plant's procurement and HSE teams how they approve equipment for classified areas, whether they accept an IECEx certificate on its own, and whether they require a local agent. Expect questions on the gas group and temperature class, the battery and charger, the camera policy and the repair route. The national route (BSMD, GSO and TRA) is on the Bahrain country page.
Questions · Power and desalination
Frequently asked questions
Is desalination a hazardous-area risk in the same way as gas turbines?
The desalination process itself is not usually classified. Where it shares a plant with generation, the fuel-gas areas of the power side are classified, and chemical dosing or hydrogen from hypochlorite generation may need assessment.
Does the same device suit Al Dur, Al Ezzel and Hidd?
The specification target is the same, but each plant is a separate operator and approves equipment itself.
Is hydrogen from generator cooling a concern for a handset?
It is a group IIC gas, the most demanding gas group, and the marking target Ex ib IIC T4 is written for it. The plant's classification drawing says where it applies.
Who maintains the plants and do they need devices too?
Original equipment manufacturers and contractors maintain turbines and generators on service agreements. They can be issued enrolled devices for a campaign and the console removes the profile at the end.
Enquiry · Power & Desalination
Ask about the IS-04Z1 for Power & Desalination, Bahrain
Tell us the site, the zone and gas group, and roughly how many handsets. The SAMS team replies by email with the datasheet and the certification schedule for Bahrain. The IS-04Z1 is pre-launch and certification is in progress, so there is no list price yet; indicative pricing is issued in writing against a stated quantity and site.
Enquiry · Power & Desalination
Launching Q4 2026
Evaluating the IS-04Z1 for this site?
Tell us the zone, gas group and operator. We will send the datasheet and the certification schedule for your market.