Article 2 of the Saudi Electricity Law

This article sets out the goals the Electricity Law aims to achieve. They can be grouped into themes:

Consumers:

• Improving the service and protecting consumers' rights, including the right to receive the service with high reliability and efficiency, to choose between competing licensees, and to pay reasonable, competitive prices that are fair between consumers.
• Making it easier for consumers to obtain supplies, and extending the service to areas it has not yet reached.
• Providing safe, reliable and highly efficient supplies at the lowest possible cost.

The market and investors:

• Creating an environment that encourages legitimate competition in electricity activities.
• Protecting the rights and interests of licensees, and providing a clear, stable and non-discriminatory regulatory framework for the public and private sectors.
• Encouraging the private sector to participate in a way that gives it a fair economic return on commercial principles.
• Developing the structure of the sector through a fair and effective process that promotes competition.

The State and society: ensuring that the sector complies with State policies and directives so as to achieve economic growth and the welfare of society, encouraging research and development and the localization of technology, jobs and services, and making sure environmental and safety standards are followed.

These objectives do not by themselves create detailed obligations, but they show the spirit of the law and help in understanding its articles. Article 3 follows and sets out what the Ministry is responsible for in order to achieve these objectives, without prejudice to the powers of other government bodies.