Saudi Electricity Company Installs Over 10m Smart Electric Meters

Saudi Electricity Company (SPA)
Saudi Electricity Company (SPA)
TT
20

Saudi Electricity Company Installs Over 10m Smart Electric Meters

Saudi Electricity Company (SPA)
Saudi Electricity Company (SPA)

Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) has installed 10 million smart electricity meters all over the Kingdom, of which four million were built from locally manufactured components.

Customers will be able to take advantage of SMP features after all three phases of the project have been completed: meter replacement, telecommunications connection, and billing tie-in.

Last year, SEC announced that the project to install smart electricity meters is going according to plan where the mechanical meters were replaced with smart ones, without any additional charges to customers.

The meters conform to the best local and international technical standards and specifications.

Smart meters fully automate the reading/billing process and enables the customer to examine and monitor their consumption in almost real-time with granular detail and optimize their consumption patterns for maximum efficiency.

The company said its huge project was accomplished in record time, not exceeding 14 months.

CEO of SEC Fahd al-Sudairi said with the installation of the 10 millionth meter, the company would have completed installing and replacing the mechanical meters with smart ones, pointing out that the customer will gradually detect the benefit from the services provided by smart meters.

Sudairi expressed the company’s happiness for accomplishing the project on time, despite the difficult and extraordinary circumstances the Kingdom and the world witnessed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The CEO asserted that the project meets the ambitions of SEC to serve its customers, pointing out that the smart meters and their technological and communication systems are resistant to the various climatic conditions.

Smart meters are the company’s most important project towards digital transformation, and it is the pivot for its strategy aiming to raise the standard of services for the better, according to Sudairi.

Smart meters are ruggedly built devices designed to withstand temperatures ranging from as high as 75° C to as low as -10° C. They are impervious to rainwater, dust, and humidity.



Gold Price Firms on Israel-Iran Conflict, Platinum Scales over 10-year High

Jewellery is displayed at the Gold Souk market in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, March 14, 2025. REUTERS/Amr Alfiky/File Photo
Jewellery is displayed at the Gold Souk market in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, March 14, 2025. REUTERS/Amr Alfiky/File Photo
TT
20

Gold Price Firms on Israel-Iran Conflict, Platinum Scales over 10-year High

Jewellery is displayed at the Gold Souk market in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, March 14, 2025. REUTERS/Amr Alfiky/File Photo
Jewellery is displayed at the Gold Souk market in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, March 14, 2025. REUTERS/Amr Alfiky/File Photo

Gold prices gained on Thursday as fears of an escalating conflict between Israel and Iran drove investors towards the safe-haven metal, while platinum scaled its highest level since September 2014.

Spot gold was up 0.2% at $3,374.49 an ounce at 1100 GMT US gold futures fell 0.5% to $3,391.00.

"We're seeing some haven flows in gold, which is really not surprising given what's happening ... with the fighting between Iran and Israel," said Fawad Razaqzada, market analyst at City Index and FOREX.com.

Equity markets have dipped, which is also supporting the precious metal, Razaqzada added, Reuters reported.

Israel said on Friday it had struck Iran's only functioning nuclear power plant on the Gulf coast, potentially a major escalation in its air war against Iran.

Meanwhile, the Fed held interest rates steady on Wednesday and policymakers still forecast cutting rates by half-a-percentage point this year, but have slowed their overall outlook for rate cuts in response to a more challenging economic outlook.

However, Fed Chair Jerome Powell cautioned against putting too much weight on this outlook, warning of "meaningful" inflation ahead as higher import tariffs loom.

Gold is considered a safe-haven asset during times of geopolitical and economic uncertainty. It also tends to thrive in a low-interest rate environment.

In other metals, platinum lost 2.5% to $1,289.71, having risen to its highest level since September 2014 earlier in the session.

Platinum prices are supported by rising Chinese imports, ongoing supply concerns, high lease rates and increased investor interest as high gold prices push consumers toward cheaper alternatives, analysts say.

"The supply-demand dynamics at play in the platinum market do hint at there being further upside in store for the price," KCM Trade Chief Market Analyst Tim Waterer said.

Palladium lost 1.1% to $1,036.74, while silver fell 1.2% to $36.31 per ounce.