Saudi Electricity's Clients to Increase to 7.9 Million by the End of 2016
Saudi Electricity Co., a state- controlled utility, expects to have a customer base of 7.9 million by the end of 2016 and seeks to meet rising demand for power in the Persian Gulf’s largest Arab country by population.
The utility expects to add 309,000 new customers next year and 1.79 million between 2011 and 2016, the company announced in a statement to the Saudi bourse website today. Saudi Electricity will add 12,752 megawatts during its 2012-2016 plan to meet the kingdom’s growing need for electricity, the statement said, citing Chief Executive Officer Ali Al Barrak.
Saudi Arabia is developing electricity projects to keep pace with a swelling population and accelerating economic growth spurred by government spending. Power demand in the world’s largest oil producer is likely to increase 8 percent a year, al- Barrak said on Oct. 4.
The Riyadh-based company will add 6,510 megawatts in 2011 in new projects that will enter the service as of 2012, according to the bourse statement. They include building 56 new power transfer stations, upgrading 10 existing stations and adding 33 power transforming stations, the statement said, citing Chairman Saleh Al Awaji.
Saudi Electricity awarded two contracts valued at 3.5 billion riyals ($933 million) to a local company to expand power generation, it said in a separate statement to the Saudi bourse website after the market closed. Expansion works at plants in Riyadh and the eastern region will be completed in 2012, it said.
Saudi Electricity shares dropped 1.1 percent, the most since Nov. 23, to 14.05 riyals at the 3:30 p.m. close in Riyadh today. The stock has climbed 25 percent this year, compared with a gain of 7.5 percent for Saudia Arabia’s benchmark stock gauge, the Tadawul All Share Index.
To contact the reporters on this story: Zahraa Alkhalisi in Dubai at zalkhalisi@bloomberg.net; Mourad Haroutunian in Riyadh at mharoutunian@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Shaji Mathew at shajimathew@bloomberg.net
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