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Electricity
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Saudi Arabia has a modern electricity network. |
The five-year development plans have targeted the electrification of the country as a top priority. The plans emphasize improving the efficiency, planning and conservation of electric power, and coordinating the electricity sector policy, particularly on pricing of electricity, with that for other sources of energy.
The Fifth Development Plan (1990-94) allocated 3.6 billion dollars for electricity, which was utilized to boost the country's power generation capacity. Between 1970 and 1992, this amount increased from 344 to 17,049 megawatts. Electricity produced at Saudi Arabia's 33 desalination plants accounts for 2,085 megawatts of total production capacity. The Saudi Consolidated Electric Company (SCECO), has helped to establish generating facilities, transmission and distribution systems and substations throughout the country. A long-term goal is to increase the capacity of steam stations and desalination plants to enable them to generate half of the electricity output.
With the rapid growth in population and industrialization, domestic electricity consumption has climbed steadily. In addition to establishing generation facilities, Saudi Arabia has built a massive electricity distribution network of 8,750 miles of transmission lines, 52,000 miles of distribution lines and 53,125 miles of service connections. The power network has been extended. to 5,990 cities. towns and villages across the country .
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