Gulf | Saudi Arabia
Saudis to sue electricity company over outages
Regulatory authority says it has not received any complaints about disruptions.
- By Abdul Rahman, Correspondent
- Published: 23:13 June 28, 2009
Riyadh: Angered by the frequent power disruptions that are inflicting huge losses and damage to their industry, a group of Saudi businessmen and industrialists plans to sue the Saudi Electricity Company (SEC).
They said that the SEC has failed to fulfil its commitment to provide an uninterrupted power supply. Several Saudi cities and regions have been hit by power disruptions without notice over the past few days. This resulted in both material and moral damage and losses to a large number of people, especially those in the industrial sector.
Hamoud Al Hajla, the lawyer representing the industrialists, told Gulf News that the SEC must pay compensation for failing to meet its obligations to its clients. Ahmad Al Tuwaijri, former head of the economic committee at the Provincial Council of Al Qasim, is among those industrialists who will take legal action against the SEC.
"We will file a lawsuit against SEC for its dereliction of duty in providing an uninterrupted power supply to our industries," he said.
Echoing the same feeling, businessman Mazeed Al Jabarain said the Saudi people pin great hopes on the Shoura Council to mitigate their suffering. Dr Mohammad Al Zulfa, former member of the council, told Gulf News that the council should rise to the occasion by fulfilling the aspirations of the people. "The Shoura Council should summon the minister of water and electricity to explain the causes of the power outage and the remedial measures taken to solve the problem," he said, while noting that the ministry is fully accountable for the current crisis.
Meanwhile, sources at the Saudi Electricity Regulatory Authority said they had not received complaints about power disruptions.
"We will take stern action once we receive any such complaints," the source said.
It is noteworthy that Minister of Water and Electricity Abdullah Al Hussain recently attributed power disruptions in some regions of the Kingdom mainly to engine failure at three generators.
He ruled out claims for compensation, saying there were also other causes for which the ministry was not accountable such as high temperatures and the use of poor quality air-conditioners by some consumers.
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