Meed | Saudi Arabia to expand grid by 60% by 2030

Saudi Arabia to expand grid by 60% by 2030

21 March 2025

State utility Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) aims to expand its power transmission network to approximately 160,000 kilometres (km) by 2030, up 60% over its existing network of about 99,800km.

An increased subscriber base and higher electricity consumption, as well as the integration of renewables, underpin plans to expand the SEC network over the next five years.

"By 2030, SEC aims to expand its transmission network to encompass approximately 160,000km of transmission lines, [and] install nine new high-voltage, direct current lines between regions and neighbouring countries," SEC said in its 2024 earnings report.

"These targets are underscoring our commitment to building a robust and future-ready grid infrastructure."

MEED understands that SEC energised 26 new transmission substations, increasing the kingdom's transmission network to 1,260, a 2.1% increase over 2023.

These new substations increased the cumulative substation capacity to 497,902 megavolt-amperes, a 2% growth over the previous year.

Of the total, SEC installed and energised 10 substations and added 148.5km of transmission lines, integrating 6.6GW of renewables in 2024.

An additional 24 substations and 4,327km of transmission lines are under construction to integrate about 34.4GW of renewable energy capacity into the grid by 2027.

Generation

SEC said generation capacity connected to the grid reached 92.15GW in 2024, up 6.9% over 2023, when installed capacity stood at 86.23GW.

The firm said its directly owned capacity of the total now stands at 56.4GW, representing 61% of the kingdom's total capacity.

Electricity production at SEC's plants surged 7.5% to 236.4 terawatt-hours in 2024.

The firm said that 1,580MW of generation capacity was added or restored to SEC's power plant fleet in 2024, while the liquid-to-gas conversion of the Riyadh power plant 10 (PP10) and phase one is expected to be completed this year.

SEC is working with local contracting company Alfanar, in addition to US-based original equipment manufacturer GE Vernova, to convert the plant's fuel feedstock to natural gas, a lower carbon intensity fuel compared to the crude oil and distillate that currently power the plant.

According to the Energy Institute, Saudi Arabia's total electricity generation in 2023 reached 422.9 terawatt-hours (TWh). Oil accounted for 152.1TWh, or about 36% of the total, while natural gas accounted for 265TWh, or 63%, and renewables made up 5.8TWh or 1%.

"Eight projects with a total capacity of 22.3GW are under transition by 2030," SEC said in its report.

It added: "SEC is currently developing 11 generation projects with an aggregate 23.4GW of capacity. These will be across directly owned capacity projects (10.476 GW), expansion and partnerships (5.324GW) and joint venture projects (7.610GW)."

Battery storage

SEC has been procuring battery energy storage system (bess) plants, with the aim of boosting the reliability and flexibility of the kingdom's electricity grid.

The first 500MW bess project in Bisha has been completed, while work is under way for 22 gigawatt-hours of bess capacity across five projects that are under development.

SEC is also prequalified to bid for the first round of independent bess projects in the kingdom, which is being produced by Saudi Power Procurement Company.

Related reads:

MEED’s April 2025 report on Saudi Arabia includes:

> UPSTREAM: Saudi oil and gas spending to surpass 2024 level
> DOWNSTREAM: Aramco’s recalibrated chemical goals reflect realism
> POWER: Saudi power sector enters busiest year
> WATER: Saudi water contracts set another annual record
> CONSTRUCTION: Reprioritisation underpins Saudi construction
> TRANSPORT: Riyadh pushes ahead with infrastructure development
> BANKING: Saudi banks work to keep pace with credit expansion

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Jennifer Aguinaldo

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Wil Crisp

Abu Dhabi expects 45% emissions cut as electricity demand rises

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Abu Dhabi-based Emirates Water & Electricity Company (Ewec) expects carbon emissions from power and water production to fall by more than 45% by 2035 as the UAE expands renewable energy and reverse osmosis (RO) desalination.

The state offtaker's latest long-term system planning forecasts emissions will decline from about 42 million tonnes in 2019 to approximately 23 million tonnes in 2035.

The reduction is expected despite annual electricity demand that is forecast to rise by about 70% in 2026-33.

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