The Kingdom will need SR 300 billion ($80 billion) in investments to expand the country's electricity generation to meet the country's growing demand, thereby necessitating the Saudi Electricity Company ( SEC ) to produce 30,000 MW at a cost of SR 35 billion annually, asserted Ali Al-Barrak, CEO of the SEC .
Al-Barrak indicated that the company's financial investments have increased from SR 25 billion in 2008 to SR 81 billion in 2013 to accommodate the country's increasing power needs.
Electricity consumption in Saudi Arabia has doubled over the past 15 years, reaching an unprecedented amount, which has consequently prompted the SEC , the state and other stakeholders to search for alternative sustainable energy resources, the CEO explained.
He also cautioned that importing low-quality electrical devices used in homes and offices must be prohibited as it causes energy loss and negatively affects the network's performance, costing the company SR 4 billion annually.
Al-Barrak revealed that the SEC will need to improve the level of its services in order to rise to the challenge of powering the newly proposed railway project, which will rely on higher electricity generation.
He said that the construction of 500,000 housing units, as ordered by a royal decree, will not pose difficulties for the company, as it currently provides power supplies to more than 380,000 housing and commercial buildings annually.
He also announced that Saudization rates have reached 88 percent and that the remaining 12 percent of the work force are expatriate experts and engineers working in remote areas.
Arab News
27 April
