Saudi Arabia

With a power score of 2.36, Saudi Arabia ranks number 25 among Emerging markets and number 1 in the Middle East.

Power score
2.36/5

Fundamentals2.92/5

Opportunities1.34/5

Experience2.26/5

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Ranking over time2.36/5

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Saudi Arabia has a power score of 2.36, which puts it at rank 25 in the Emerging Markets power ranking. The power score of Saudi Arabia is higher than the average of 1.85 in the Middle East.

Regional comparison chart

In the chart above all geographies within the region are arranged by power score from left to right. The circles are sized based on the population.

Power

Power policy

Saudi Arabia implements policies in 5/8 categories tracked by Climatescope; Renewable energy target, Auctions/tenders (utility-scale), Support for customer-sited generation (rooftop and self-consumption), Tax incentives, and REC'S - Renewable Energy Certificates

Renewable energy target

Auctions/tenders (utility-scale)

Feed-in tariff/premium (utility-scale)

Support for customer-sited generation (rooftop and self-consumption)

Tax incentives

Renewables mandate/RPS/Supplier Obligation

REC'S - Renewable Energy Certificates

Priority generation dispatch

Power prices and costs

The average electricity price in Saudi Arabia has increased from ~$60/MWh in 2023 to ~$61/MWh in 2024. Since 2019, the average electricity price in Saudi Arabia has fluctuated between ~$59/MWh in 2020 and ~$61/MWh in 2024.

Electricity prices in Saudi Arabia (2019-2024)

Power market

The top amount of capacity installed in Saudi Arabia in 2024 was in Oil and diesel at 46.06GW, down from 47.8GW in 2023.

Installed capacity (2019-2024)

Electricity generation (2019-2024)

The technology with the largest share of electricity generated in Saudi Arabia in 2024 was Natural gas at 206.98TWh, up from 191.36TWh in 2023.

Investment in Saudi Arabia (2019-2024)

Investment in clean energy in Saudi Arabia was around $7.34Bn in 2024. This amounts to a decrease of around 23% from $9.53Bn in 2023.

Utility privatisation

Which segments of the power sector are open to private participation?

generation

transmission

retail

Doing business and barriers

Type

Question

Availability

Bilateral power contracts

Can a C&I (Commercial and Industrial) customer sign a long-term contract (PPA) for clean energy?

Currency of Corporate PPAs

Are other PPAs (eg. corporate PPAs) signed in or indexed to U.S. Dollars or Euro?

Fossil fuel price distortions - Subsidies

Does the government keep the wholesale price of electricity from fossil fuels artificially low through subsidies?

Fossil fuel price distortions - Taxes and carbon prices

Does the government significantly increase the wholesale price of electricity from fossil fuel through targeted taxes and/or carbon prices?

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