DAMMAM: Government agencies owe the Saudi Electricity Company SR6 billion for unpaid electricity bills, Eng. Ali Al-Barak, the firm's executive president, said Tuesday during a meeting in Al-Khobar. Addressing reporters at the Management Quality Forum, he touched on a number of issues, including plans to build and upgrade power plants. The current electricity tariff made it impossible for the Company to meet all its financial obligations including those relating to the price of the fuel and bought power, Engineer Al-Barak said. He said the Company is moving ahead with expansion plans; next week, it will offer public bids for two giant power generating plants, one in south Jeddah and one in Riyadh, with a total cost of SR20 billion. The week will also see the Company unveil its budget, which was approved in the Kingdom's general budget, he added. The budget includes a development program under which all power generating stations throughout the country will be upgraded and expanded, Engineer Al-Barak said. A slate of new projects includes a new 800-megawatt power station at Al-Quaryia, which will be tendered for public bid. The bids are scheduled be opened in March, he added. The Company is also analyzing the possibility of replacing its low-power generating plants with modern ones that provide more power, he said. These and other projects will be officially announced, he said, when the board of directors endorses them. The Company, which is going ahead in its partnership program with the private sector, has signed a SR10 billion contract with investors for the Rabegh power plant and another one for the 11th power-generating project in Riyadh, at cost of SR8 billion, Engineer Al
