RIYADH, 5 January 2004 — Saudi Arabia is implementing SR17 billion worth of power projects in a move to cope with the surging power demand, which is projected to grow by 4.5 percent annually by 2020.
Sulaiman ibn Abdullah Al-Qadi, Saudi Electricity Company’s executive president said since its establishment three years ago, SEC has implemented electricity projects at a cost of SR21 billion.
The Kingdom, where 48 percent of power is consumed by the residential sector, has been pursuing a massive electrification plan.
The SEC chief said Crown Prince Abdullah, deputy premier and commander of the National Guard, recently opened the ninth power generation station in Riyadh, which consists of 16 power generation units designed to generate 1,380 megawatts.
“Many other projects designed to boost generation capacity have been completed recently,” he added.
Completed projects include units 6 and 7 of Ghazlan steam plant and two units of the Shuayba steam power plant. Other projects include the recent expansion of power plants in Asir, Jizan, Tihama and Arar.
“The Kingdom will require $115 billion during the next 23 years to set up new power generation projects,” said a study conducted by a local bank here. The Kingdom’s existing capacity currently exceeds 23,400 MW, while there are predictions of additional power capacity requirement of around 20,000 MW by the year 2010. These figures are based on a 5.5 percent annual demand growth in power consumption, the study said.
The surging growth in power consumption has prompted the electricity experts and consumers to call on the Saudi government to involve the independent power producers and embark on serious reforms in the power sector. There are also calls for restructuring including a regular review of tariffs, which may form part of the privatization plan of the Kingdom.
