The Saudi Electricity Co. has approved seven power projects worth SR14.7 billion (US$3.92 billion) to meet rising demand in the country, the Arab News has reported. The projects include expansion of the Rabigh power plant and other power transmission and generation projects, the company said in a statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency.

SEC would finance the projects through loans and its own resources, it said in the statement without providing further details.

The Arab News also reported that SEC's Board of Directors approved a number of 38-kV transmission lines with a total length of 886 km, as well as three 380-kV transformer stations in Al-Jouf, Hail and the Eastern Province with a total capacity of 2,500 MW.

Saleh Al-Awaji, who chaired the board, said a number of important electricity projects would enter service this year, including the 10th power plant in Riyadh with a capacity of 880 MW and the newly expanded Wadi Al-Dawasser plant with a capacity of 110 megawatts, Duba plant, Qassim-2 and Rabigh-6 plants. He said 18 new transformer stations have also entered service this year, including the one related to Riyadh-9 plant, in addition to the completion of transmission lines linking the southern and western regions, the Arab News said.

"The SEC has completed recently two power linkage projects between the central and western regions and western and southern regions. With the completion of these two projects we have linked about 95 percent of the Kingdom's power network," Al-Awaji said.

He said the company would continue its efforts to complete the linkage of the remaining five percent of electricity networks in the country in order to link all regions with a single power grid within five years.

"The board meeting discussed the company's performance during the summer season in all parts of the country and discussed ways of further improving services," Al-Awaji said.