Saudi Gazette report

JEDDAH – For the second time in a row, the Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) has delayed issuing August bills until Sept. 10, according to SEC Public Relations Director Hamoud Al-Ghabini, Makkah daily reported.

“The bills will be issued Sept. 10th and the issuance process will continue for a few days afterwards,” he said. Al-Ghabini did not provide any information about when exactly the bills for August will be issued and whether SEC will consider rescheduling the bill issuance and whether there will be similar delay in the issuance of upcoming bills.

In a statement released last month, the company said the July bills of household consumption would be issued Aug. 9 and the issuance of all bills would take seven days. The statement stressed that July bills would be issued between August 9-15 in line with the Electricity and Co-generation Regulatory Authority (ECRA)’s decision, noting that the system and mechanisms of bill issuance needed to be upgraded while the information of subscribers needed to be updated.

Social network activists asked the SEC on Twitter whether such actions violated the Royal Decree calling for unifying the date of issuance for public service bills and make it one week after government officials have received their salaries. The SEC set 28th of each month as the date for issuing e-bills to all subscribers.

Majed Al-Majdi, an economic and accounting expert, said SEC is trying to issue its bills simultaneously with deposits of Citizen Account Program’s financial aid. He said the delay in issuing the bills is a clear violation of the Royal Decree. “It seems that the company is facing difficulty issuing millions of bills on the same day and trying to find a solution, especially in light of the criticism leveled at the company on the social media websites.”

He called upon the company to expedite the process of installing smart electric meters to facilitate the issuance of bills.