PDF - Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies

Figure 4. Electricity consumption by sector (JICA 2008)
Households constitute by far the most important component of electricity demand,
accounting for 53 per cent of total consumption in Saudi Arabia (figure 4).
Households constitute the segment of demand that has grown more rapidly.
Encouraging them to change their electricity consumption pattern is much more difficult
than pursuing a more rational use of energy in industry, and it is especially difficult if the
price lever cannot be used. It is therefore to be expected that emphasis will be on
increasing electricity production rather than reining in consumption and, if anything,
savings efforts will be focused on industry rather than the residential sector (figure 5).
Figure 5
Growth of energy consumption by sector in Saudi Arabia
over the period 2002 to 2006.
Source: Al-Ibrahim 2009.
7