Saudi Arabia able to attract global power firms, says SEC CEO

Saudi Arabia has attracted several global power firms, thanks to Saudi Electricity Co.’s (SEC) long-term strategy which aims to localize the power industry, chief executive Ziad Al- Shiha said.

In a report carried by the state-owned Saudi Press Agency (SPA) Tuesday, he said the move by companies like General Electric, Siemens and Swiss GIS will help in technology-transfer to the kingdom.

Al-Shiha added the utility has put up a five-year plan showcasing its needs, contracts and technical specifications of required supplies, on its website.

In addition, the company grants local factories a competitive advantage in prices of up to 10 percent, compared to imported products as part of its localization drive.

SEC has also set up an independent unit for industry localization and technical qualification in line with the kingdom’s National Transformation Program (NTP) 2020.

Key performance indicators (KPIs) were also introduced to determine the ratio of local purchases to total procurements, the number of local plants qualified to supply electricity materials and the percentage of local content in SEC’s projects across the kingdom, Al-Shiha added.