As the world’s largest exporter of petroleum, The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is the only Arab country to be included in the G20. Its strong, oil-based economy does not just rely on the Kingdom’s natural reserves, that amount to 18% of the world’s proven petroleum reserves, but also on the power that keeps the country running.

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A KINGDOM FILLED WITH LIGHT

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SAUDI ELECTRICITY COMPANY

In 2000, a paid-up capital of SR 33.7 billion created a merger of all Saudi electricity companies in the Central, Eastern, Western, and Southern Regions, in addition to the ten small companies

operating north of the Kingdom and the other electricity operations managed by General Electricity Corporation, into a single joint stock company – the Saudi Electricity Company. The Saudi Arabian Government maintains a strong control over major economic activities in the Kingdom and the SEC is no exception, with 74% of the company owned by the Government and 7% by Saudi Aramco.

Like the country of Saudi Arabia, which has undergone enormous changes since the discovery of its oil reserves in the 1930s, the SEC understands the need to adapt and grow. Perhaps the biggest change to the company, since its creation, is the huge organisational restructure that is currently in progress. Mr Siddiq explains, “SEC is in the process of unbundling into SEC and six fully owned subsidiaries, to comply with the objective to reach energy open market in stages: single buyer, principle buyer and eventually open market. The subsidiaries will be four-generation companies (GENCO’s), one transmission company (National Grid), and one distribution company (DISTCO). The preparation of the unbundling program started in 2007, and the final set up was approved in 2010.”

The SEC’s major responsibilities are far greater than providing reliable power supply for all customers; it is constantly striving for progress and improvement. The company is committed

to infrastructure investment in generation, transmission and distribution networks, and to establishing an interconnected grid throughout the Kingdom to improve the stability and efficiency of the service. The company also performs and supports research and development in performance improvement, economical operation, environment protection, power conservation, renewable power and services enhancement and stimulates the economy by developing competition amongst Independent Power Producers. However, the SEC’s role reaches far beyond the Kingdom; the company also imports and exports power across the borders and invests in power projects internationally.

A PERSONAL TOUCHThe SEC cares about people. Thanks to a strong sense of

Corporate Social Responsibility, the company has initiatives in place to maintain strong relationships with its customers, do business with transparency and accountability and create an excellent work environment for its employees. Internal communication programmes like the Panorama Programme, which has honoured 428 outstanding recipients of the SEC employee of the year award and the Thank God For Safety Programme, where the company conducted 90 visits to employees in hospital, show the company’s ability to recognise and value individuals even within a large organisation.

SAUDI ELECTRICITY COMPANY

The Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) provides power generation, transmission, distribution and customer services and is a key energy provider for the residential, commercial, industrial and Governmental sectors. Endeavour Magazine spoke to Mr Rami Siddiq of the SEC about how the company serves a strong and growing nation.

SAUDI ELECTRICITY COMPANY

A BRIGHT FUTUREThe SEC’s drive for constant progress is clear in the on-going

and upcoming projects that Mr Siddiq details for Endeavour Magazine, “SEC distribution networks cover the whole country with the voltages below 100 KV. The interconnection of the four SEC Area Networks (Central, Eastern, Western and Southern), supplying extra and high voltage, was completed in 2010. The nine remaining small isolated networks will be linked to the interconnected networks before 2016, except Rafha and Sharorah, which will remain isolated until 2021. There are currently 13 key transmission projects underway, from Madinah to Egypt, all to be completed before 2020.”

Other projects include the production of a conventional steam power plant in al Qurayah, south of the eastern city of Khobar, under the Independent Power Project plan. SEC will buy all the power produced by the al Qurayah plant from the winning consortium which will run it on a build own operate basis. The plant is the third of six planned IPP power plant projects in Saudia Arabia, which should add 11,000 MW of capacity.

A CLEAN FUTUREThe Saudi Electricity Company’s commitment to the future

is about much more than improving service for their current customers; it believes in tackling climate change and using renewable energy to provide a sustainable, clean future for the people of Saudi Arabia and the world.

“If we continue to consume fuel at the same rate, then there will be a great lost opportunity,” said Hamed al-Saggaf, executive director of the SEC, at the Solar Arabia Summit in 2014, “We have to start pursuing solar now.”

The nation shares Saggaf’s passion for solar energy. Saudi Arabia is currently aiming to invest upwards of $109 billion into solar energy in the coming years, as a means of keeping up with growing electricity demand and decreasing local oil use to increase exports.

The SEC has seized the opportunity for solar power with both hands and is now working on an ambitious project that marks Saudi Arabia’s first integration of a solar power field with a combined cycle plant and the first introduction of condensate as a gas

SAUDI ELECTRICITY COMPANY

turbine fuel. Mr Siddiq tells us more, “The Green Duba Integrated Solar Combined Cycle Plant will be built in the northwest of Saudi Arabia, along the Red Sea coast and has the capacity to generate the power needed to supply about 600,000 homes for a year. The project is designed to generate up to 550 MW from the combined cycle plant, while the solar field will supply steam for an additional 50 MW. Power and medical company GE, which assists in the generation of more than half of Saudi Arabia’s power supply and has over 500 gas turbines installed in the Kingdom, has partnered with the SEC for the project. GE will supply the engineering equipment package for the combined cycle plant, including two highly efficient, reliable F-class gas turbines, a 7F.05 and a 7F.03, a steam turbine, generators, heat recovery steam generators, condenser, boiler feed pumps, Mark VIe distributed control system and a long-term service agreement. Meanwhile, the SEC will tender separately the plant, solar field, civil works, erection, commissioning and testing. The project is expected to cost a total of SR 2.5 billion and will be fully operational before the end of 2017.”

In addition, the SEC is building the PP13 and PP14 combined

cycle power plants in Riyadh, which will have a combined net electric output of 1,980 MW each. Power blocks one and two of the PP13 plant are scheduled to begin operating in May and October of 2016, while the two power blocks at PP14 are scheduled to start in November 2016 and April 2017.

These projects have great potential, but the SEC knows that more can and should be done and refuses to rest on its successes. The company will work together with the King Abdul Aziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) to create a new solar energy research centre as part of its on-going mission to protect the environment and strive for excellence.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has a significant role to play on the world stage – a role that grows by the day – and with the Saudi Electricity Company at the helm, the Kingdom will be filled with light for generations to come.