Saudi electric company signs SR464m contracts

The Saudi Electric Company (SEC) signed two contracts for SR464 million with a local company for the establishment and expansion of two electricity conversion plants in Riyadh. “The project comes within the framework of the company’s efforts to enhance the electrical system,” SEC Chief Executive Officer Ali bin Saleh Al-Barrak was quoted by a Saudi Press Agency (SPA) report as saying. SEC, which is owned by the Saudi government and the Saudi Arabian Oil Company, specializes in supplying electricity in the Kingdom. Sources claimed that the two contracts aim to meet “alarming power demand in the Kingdom, especially in Riyadh” as reported recently by the Saudi Energy Efficiency Center (SEEC). Naif Al-Abadi, director general of SEEC, mentioned earlier this week that the per capita consumption of electricity in the Kingdom was three times higher than world average and suggested that the likely cause of the phenomena is the low cost of fuel in Saudi Arabia resulting in cheap electricity. He believes that the power consumption of the Kingdom will continue to increase and is expected to reach 8 million barrel of oil equivalent per day (BOEPD). Meanwhile, Al-Barrak will not be able to see the completion of the projects because he recently announced that he will step down as CEO of SEC on Jan. 1, 2014 and will be replaced by Ziad bin Mohammed Al-Shiha, former manager of Saudi Aramco.