Saudis pay the cheapest electricity bills, according to one report, but seemingly not for long. The Saudi Electricity and Cogeneration Regulatory Authority plans to increase electricity tariffs.

The authority announced that it would revise the tariff system to reflect the real costs of the service, cover the expenses of the service provider and increase its economic returns.

The authority declared it would adopt new measures to achieve its goal of increasing electricity prices to be reflective of the service.

This includes designing a new tariff structure, developing a public policy for tariff, preparing an integrated system to collect financial and operational data from service providers in the Kingdom and designing a comprehensive system to calculate the cost that eventually determines the tariff consumers pay.

The report states that the electricity tariff in Saudi Arabia is the lowest in the world because of governmental loans and support to electricity production companies through supporting fuel prices. The Saudi government pays around SR150 billion annually to provide subsidized fuel for electricity power generation.

In a statement issued on Sunday, the SEC said the electricity tariff in the Kingdom is the lowest in the world. At present SEC charges five halalas for 1 to 2,000 kilowatt/hour, 10 halalas for 2,000 to 4,000 kilowatt/hour, 12 halalas for 4,001 to 6,000 kilowatt/hour, 15 halalas for 6,001 to 7,000, 20 halalas for 7001 to 8,000, 22 halalas for 8001 to 9000, 24 halalas for 9001 to 10,000 and 26 halalas for more than 10,000 kilowatt/hour for residential buildings.

 
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