He said that over 20,000 Saudi mosques waste 70 percent of their electricity consumption. This number is startling — some mosques have around 28 air-conditioning units that are used to cool the main prayer hall when only one or two lines of people have come to worship.

One mosque has tried to save power by using only eight AC units at the front and switched off those at the back. I hope all mosques in the Kingdom follow suit.

I think it is a total waste of electricity to turn on all lights and AC units when worshippers are very few. Wasting resources cannot go hand in hand with worship.

Al-Hussayen also said that there is an annual 10 percent increase in electricity consumption.

The waste is not limited to electricity. I wrote an article earlier about how worshippers waste water when doing ablution for prayer.

The annual consumption of water in the Kingdom is rising by 6 percent. All of this is leading us to come up with a new water tariff that will surely motivate us to rationalize consumption. It will force people to think of every drop of water they consume.

Local bodies should participate with the public sector in playing a part in implementing the development plan prepared by the Ministry of Water and Electricity. Both sectors are partners in the Kingdom’s development.  There is a need to develop water resources and methods to rationalize water use, all of which calls for partnership between the public and private sectors.

We are facing a real battle when it comes to water and electricity consumption — a battle that needs the support of both the private and public sectors. People can do something important when they use water and electricity carefully. If we do not wake up now, we could face a real crisis.