The combination of continued restrictions on international travel and looser domestic restrictions pushed Saudi Arabia’s electricity consumption up sharply for the first six months of 2021. The 1H results of Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) primarily attribute a 10% year-on-year increase in electricity sales to “the easing of restrictions in the current year as opposed to full lockdown witnessed during Q2 2020.”

Overall, SEC says electricity sales in the first half of 2021 totalled 134.8TWh, up from 122.5TWh for 1H 2020. This is a trend that is being replicated across the region, with Kuwait (MEES, 30 July), Qatar and Dubai all reporting record demand (MEES, 18 June). (CONTINUED - 558 WORDS)