Saudi Electricity

In the landscape of nations, unifying the power grid is a playbook for economic transformation. Before 2000, electricity in Saudi Arabia was a fragmented affair, managed by separate regional companies. The turning point came on April 5, 2000, when the Saudi Council of Ministers ordered the merger of these entities. This created the Saudi Electricity Company (SEC), a single joint-stock company tasked with powering the Kingdom's future. The founder was not a single individual but the state itself, executing a strategic vision for a centralized and more efficient energy sector. The new entity's mandate was clear: generate, transmit, and distribute electricity across the nation. This consolidation was a massive undertaking, aimed at enhancing reliability and fueling industrial and residential growth. In 2002, SEC adopted a new organizational structure to streamline operations. A major strategic event occurred in 2012 with the establishment of the National Grid SA, a subsidiary created to operate and maintain the transmission system, separating this key function to improve focus and efficiency. As a publicly traded company on the Tadawul (the Saudi stock exchange), with a majority stake held by the government, SEC became the largest utility in the Middle East and North Africa. Its journey reflects a strategic state-led initiative to build critical infrastructure, culminating not in a venture-backed IPO, but in its formation as a publicly-listed titan from day one, foundational to the Kingdom's economic ambitions.