Water and Electricity Regulatory Authority

The Water and Electricity Regulatory Authority (WERA) is a government authority that regulates the electricity sector in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It aims for the sector to be a regulated, reliable, sustainable, and highly efficient sector, and works to enhance electricity and district cooling services to the level of economic sustainability.

The authority maintains an independent legal personality, as well as financial and administrative independence. It is based in Riyadh City.

The authority was established as the Electricity Services Regulatory Authority on November 12, 2001, to regulate electricity in the Kingdom. The authority also became responsible for organizing dual production activity on November 21, 2005, when its name was amended to the Electricity & Co-generation Regulatory Authority. Thereafter, the responsibility for organizing seawater desalination activities, transporting to distribution points, and trading therein, was assigned to the authority on May 21, 2007, pursuant to the decisions of the Council of Ministers.

On December 29, 2020, the Council of Ministers Decision No. 263 approved the regulation of the new authority in line with its roles and functions, and with its new name, which was included in the regulation amending its name to the Water and Electricity Regulatory Authority (WERA), and to linked organizationally it to the Prime Minister. The decision assigned the task of regulating the water sector stipulated in this new regulation for a period of three years (renewable), to the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture (MEWA).

The new regulation broadened the authority’s powers and granted it autonomy commensurate to the changes in the electricity sector in the Kingdom and to achieve the objectives of the authority as the entity tasked with regulating the sector. Most notably, the upgrading of electricity services by focusing on consumer care and protection of their rights, and working to secure an electricity service that meets the best standards of quality, efficiency, and reliability.

WERA performs numerous tasks and roles, such as issuing licenses for conducting electricity activities, which include: generation, transmission, distribution, and trading in electricity; retail sale, import, and export of electricity; working to protect consumers; developing technical codes and regulations; monitoring the commitment of electricity service providers to planning standards, safety, occupational, and environmental health legislations; and introducing performance indicators for electricity service providers, and monitoring their implementation and development.

The authority scrutinizes the performance indicators of the electricity sector in its various activities: generation, transmission, distribution, and consumer services, to ensure the quality of services provided. It also applies an unambiguous regulatory framework for costing the provision of electricity, and works to promote the financial sustainability of the electricity sector through the drafting of legislation and regulations, and approving agreements and prices for services provided by licensees.

The authority participates in the membership of a number of global and regional organizations, in order to exchange expertise, benefit from the best global practices, and learn about regulatory experiences in relation to the reliability of the electrical grid, supply security, service enhancement, improving performance efficiency, and consumer services, as well as other topics related to the electricity sector. Among these global and regional organizations are:

Gulf Cooperation Council Interconnection Authority (GCCIA) under the umbrella of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)

GCC Advisory and Regulatory Committee on Electricity Interconnection.

Arab Forum for Electricity Regulators (AFER) under the umbrella of the Arab League

Energy Regulators Regional Association (ERRA)