Jurisdiction Saudi Arabia Website www.ecra.gov.sa | Headquarters Riyadh | |
The Electricity & Cogeneration Regulatory Authority (ECRA) is a Saudi organization which regulates the electricity and water desalination industry in Saudi Arabia. In addition, to develop and pursue a regulatory framework, in accordance with government laws, regulations, policies and standards, as well as international best practices in order to guarantee the provision of safe, reliable, reasonably priced and efficient electric power and desalinated water to the consumers of Saudi Arabia.
Contents
Establishment
The Electricity & Cogeneration Regulatory Authority (ECRA) was established on 27/8 1422 A.H.
Goals and objectives
Responsibilities
Supply matters: issuing licenses for generation, transmission, distribution, retailing and trading of electricity and cogeneration services as well as production, trading and transportation of desalinated water; monitoring licensees' compliance with their license requirements and conditions; development of unified regulatory accounting and reporting procedures for electricity, cogeneration and desalination providers; coordination of the infrastructure of the electricity and water desalination industry and development of the expansion plans of these industries.
Consumer issues: assessment of tariffs charged for supply of electricity, cogeneration and water desalination services, periodic review of these tariffs, proposing (as needed) new tariffs to the government, protecting interests of stakeholders in the industry, investigating and resolving complaints by involved parties and improving industry performance.
Technical issues: developing and issuing best practice codes and standards, insuring adequacy of the R&D activities of the electricity and water desalination industry, promoting energy conservation measures in coordination with the Ministry of Water and Electricity (MWE) and handling other relevant technical matters.
Organizational and administrative tasks: defining public interest with regard to the electricity and water desalination industry, development of regulations for expansion of the infrastructure of the industry, encouraging private sector participation and investments, and issuing periodic reports to the Council of Ministers on costs and tariffs of electricity, cogeneration and desalination services.
Scope of work
Consumer service
The consumer is the center of ECRA's attention. ECRA believes that its duty is to protect public interest which includes consumers' rights. In particular, the Implementing Regulations of the Electricity Law related to ECRA’s duties state in detail the rights of consumers towards the licensee and consumer's obligations.
ECRA believes in the importance of having a good relation between the licensee and the consumer. However, the consumer might be unsatisfied with some aspects of his relation with the licensee or his treat. For instance:
In any of these situations, or at any time the consumer finds himself unsatisfied with service offered, the consumer can pursue the following steps in order to find a satisfactory solution.
- First the consumer should contact the licensee, present his complaint and try to solve it amicably.
- If the consumer does not find a satisfactory solution with the licensee, he can present his complaint to ECRA – Consumer Care Department.
- ECRA will solve the disagreement amicably or resolve it fairly.
- If the consumer is unsatisfied with the resolution reached by ECRA, he can demand transfer of the complaint to the Dispute Resolution Committee of Electricity Industry which is an independent legal committee constituted by a Resolution of the Council of Ministers, comprising six members: three legal experts, two experts in the electricity industry and a financial expert.
Finally, if the consumer is not convinced with the committee's decision, he can complain to the Board of Grievance within sixteen days from the date he is notified of the decision.