Article 17 of the Saudi Electricity Law

This article specifies the acts that are violations of the provisions of the Electricity Law. There are nine:

1. Carrying out an electricity activity without a license or exemption.
2. Failing to comply with any decision issued by the Authority within its remit.
3. A licensee's failure to: provide the information or data the Authority requests in the way the law and the regulations specify, provide the services of the activity it is licensed to provide, or obtain the approvals required under the law, the regulations and the conditions of the license or exemption.
4. Giving false or misleading information or data.
5. Tampering with the meter that measures the electricity service or any of its accessories.
6. A licensee's failure to comply with the approved fuel-use efficiency standards.
7. Failure to comply with the approved specifications and standards for protecting the environment, safety and public health.
8. Using the electrical system or connecting to it in an irregular manner, or helping others do either.
9. Withholding information necessary for electricity activities (the regulations state the information that may not be withheld in each activity), as well as publishing data and information whose circulation or publication is prohibited.

Who is addressed? Some violations are expressly specific to the licensee (items 3 and 6), while others are worded generally and are not limited to the licensee, such as tampering with the meter, irregular connection, giving misleading information, and carrying out the activity without a license. A consumer who tampers with his home meter or runs an irregular connection therefore commits a violation under this text.

Helping another to use the system or connect to it in an irregular manner is also a violation in itself.

Article 18 follows and sets the penalties, including suspending the activity for a period not exceeding one year, revoking the license, and a fine not exceeding ten million riyals. A person accused of a violation is well advised to consult a lawyer who specializes in administrative or criminal cases.