Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) announced plans to transfer the ownership of its subsidiary Saudi Power Procurement Company (SPPC) to the government as part of its restructuring program in continuation of the kingdom’s regulatory and structural reforms.
According to the SEC’s filing to the Saudi Stock Exchange, Tadawul, the ownership transfer is in line with Saudi Vision 2030 and aims to enhance the efficiency and quality of electric power generation, transmission, and distribution in Saudi Arabia through 45 power generation plants, which will benefit both consumers and producers.
SEC said that it had received a letter from the Ministry of Energy and Chairman of the Ministerial Committee approving the SPPC’s carve-out and directing it to follow all legal procedures necessary to purchase and transfer SEC’s entire stake in SPPC to government ownership.
SPPC is responsible for competitive tendering of renewable and conventional energy projects in order to meet rising power demand, as well as managing commercial agreements for power procurement and sale, fuel procurement and distribution, and improving fuel efficiency.
According to SEC, this resolution is a continuation of the regulatory and structural reforms announced last November by the Ministerial Committee for the Restructuring of the Electricity Sector, under the leadership of the Supreme Committee for Energy Mix for Electricity Generation and Renewable Energy Sector Empowerment, headed by His Royal Highness Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Council of Economic and Development Affairs.
The restructuring will help the kingdom achieve its electricity sector goals, including reducing the use of liquid fuels for electricity generation, improving and automating the distribution networks, increasing the reliability of the electricity transmission and distribution grid to facilitate the production of electricity from renewable energy sources, and achieving the optimal energy mix for production.
