Electricity sector reflects Saudi progress towards energy sustainability

LONDON—The Saudi Electricity Company’s recent moves showcase Saudi progress on the path to sustainability both in strategies and business practices.

The 2019 inaugural environmental, social and governance (ESG) report, titled “Empowering Future with Sustainable Energy” makes the case for this progress. The history of the SEC dates back to 1975, when the Saudi government created the ministry of industry and electricity to better organise and regulate its electricity sector. In 2003, that ministry was split into the ministry of water and electricity and the ministry of energy, industry and mineral resources. This lead to a five-piece divide of the country: central, northern, southern, eastern and western regions. With the exception of the northern region, the country’s semi-private and private electricity companies were consolidated into what would eventually be known as the Saudi Electricity Company.

The ESG framework’s three major pillars are promoting responsible business practices, empowering communities and their people and facilitating a transition to a circular, low-carbon economy. The framework was designed to align with the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 reform drive, including by creating new revenue streams, finding cost saving opportunities, reducing risk and bringing the SEC into the ranks of the world’s leading companies focused on environmental, social and corporate governance.

Developing global partnerships to lead to a more sustainable planet is also a goal of the energy ministry, which plays a complimentary role in building a sustainable power sector.

The SEC has made progress in implementing many of the ESG’s sustainability goals, including ensuring biodiversity protection, creating a circular economy, improving customer relations, ensuring natural resources are managed efficiently on both supply and demand sides, minimising pollution and waste and improving water management. In doing so, the SEC has improved operational efficiency and made significant social, economic and environmental gains.

In its report, the SEC also outlined its sustainability goals and priorities for the future, which, include further reductions to greenhouse gas emission via numerous work streams. These include providing assistance to customers to clarify their electricity consumption, integrating renewable energy sources into the current energy grid and increasing power supplies’ energy level.

Saudi Energy Minister Abdulaziz bin Salman Al Saud has also prioritised these goals, and aims to provide reasonably priced energy that utilises renewable methods.

Earlier this year, Saudi Arabia took an important step in this direction by launching  the Smart Metering Project, which helps automate and digitise the kingdom’s power grid in line with the SEC’s sustainability goals.

The SEC is committed to continuing to provide efficient, sustainable, safe and reliable power to the kingdom, which needs to ensure both a strong economy and cleaner environment for present and future generations.