His Highness the Minister of Energy said that they aim to install 8 million smart electric meters in the residential sector in 3 phases until 2020, expected to start within the next two months.
Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said, during the signing of an agreement between the Ministry of Energy, Electricity & Cogeneration Regulatory Authority (ECRA), Local Content & Government Procurement Authority (LCGPA), Saudi Standards, Metrology and Quality Organization (SASO), and Saudi Electricity Company (SEC), that the agreement aims to enhance the local manufacturing of smart electric meters. The agreement also includes the detailed mechanisms to implement the objectives of this project. Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman promised that 5 government entities would sign this agreement as evidence of the integration and participation of the concerned authorities to achieve the goals of Vision 2030.
The agreement was signed by Dr. Ghassan Al-Shibl, Chairman of the Board of Directors of LCGPA, Dr. Khaled Al-Sultan, Chairman of the Board of Directors of SEC, Dr. Saad Al-Qasabi, Governor of SASO, Dr. Yasir Al-Turki, Assistant Undersecretary for Electricity Affairs, and Dr. Abdulrahman Al-Muhanna, Governor of ECRA. The agreement stipulates that the winning company in the smart meters project is obligated to manufacture at least 35% of the smart meters in the Kingdom (3 and a half million meters out of the total project of 10 million meters).
Following the signing ceremony, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, Minister of Energy, affirmed that this important agreement confirms the state’s commitment to enabling and maximizing local manufacturing and enhancing the role of national industries to actively advance the development of the electricity industry in the Kingdom in accordance with the Kingdom’s 2030 vision. He indicated that the smart meters project, which will come soon, will be a qualitative leap in serving subscribers, and upgrading the electricity sector to better levels.
Dr. Khaled Al-Sultan, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Saudi Electricity Company, explained that the "Saudi Electricity" aims, through the smart meters project, to achieve high reliability of electric service and a reliable and easy-to-read billing system for its subscribers that all meet the standards of accuracy, transparency and clarity, in line with all the guaranteed standards of the World Bank and that applied in the kingdom.
He indicated that the company confirms, through the signing of this agreement, the continuation of the company's efforts to enhance the local industries related to the electricity sector, enable local manufacturers to compete internationally, and raise the percentage of local factories registered with the company.
