As part of its restructuring and privatization plan, the Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) has set the beginning of 2012 as the date for launching the Saudi Electricity Transmission Company, according to sources. An electricity-generating company and electricity-distribution company are scheduled to start operating in early 2013. The moves are part of the plan that includes creating fully owned generating, transmission and distribution companies, sources told Al-Hayat Arabic daily. The SEC Board of Directors has approved implementing the interim stage for the restructuring; a working team has been formed and a contract has been signed with Accenture, an international consulting company, according to a source in the Saudi Electric Company. Accenture will hold a number of workshops and meetings with the company's employees; a source in SEC said it “recently sent a letter to its employees urging them to cooperate with the project's working team.” Splitting up and privatizing the SEC is part of its endeavor to boost the electricity sector in the Kingdom, in conformity with the state's plan to increase private sector investment in electricity and increase competition, according to a source. Ali Al-Barrak, President and CEO of Saudi Electricity Company, has said that establishing the companies is part of the plan for restructuring some of its operations and converting its main units to fully owned, affiliated companies. The SEC, the biggest Gulf utility company in terms of market value, will become a holding company that owns other companies, provides support and supervises their performance. The source added that restructuring plans include dividing the SEC into three separate units before privatizing them. The plan includes separating the power-generating assets from those related to transmission and distribution, and a new company will be established for operating the electricity network.The separation process will be followed by allowing competition in the wholesale sector and then in the retail sector. The SEC has announced that it intends to invest SR300 billion through 2018 to boost electrical power. Reports indicate that the demand for electricity in the Kingdom is constantly increasing; it reached 40 gigawatts in 2010 and is expected to reach 120 gigawatts in 2032.
