Saudi Arabia will launch on Saturday a national campaign for rationalization of electricity consumption. Minister of Water and Electricity Abdullah Al-Hussayen will launch the campaign as the Saudi Electricity Company (SEC), the Gulf's largest utility by market value, grapples with growing domestic energy demand and the highest per capita electricity consumption in the Middle East. The electricity sector, which relies entirely on thermal sources needs to nearly double its installed capacity by 2020 to meet projected demand. Already demand has far outstripped supply. Analysts say that because electricity is heavily subsidized, there is little incentive for consumers, especially households, to rationalize consumption. Combined with heavy use of air-conditioning, the Kingdom has one of the highest electricity consumption per head rates in the world, estimated at 7,042 kwh per head.
