Accenture is helping Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) to prepare for a comprehensive restructuring that is designed to lead to an eventual liberalization of the electricity market in Saudi Arabia.

The Saudi Electricity and Co-generation Regulatory Authority (ECRA) recently launched the Electricity Industry Restructuring Plan (EIRP), an initiative which provides the guidelines to move towards a more competitive wholesale electricity market in the Kingdom. SEC recently created the National Grid Company S.A., a wholly-owned power transmission subsidiary, as the first step in a multi-year restructuring of the company. Within this phase of the Restructuring Program, SEC will also create and spin off four generation companies and one distribution company.

Under the management consulting contract, Accenture is also responsible for designing and running a change and communication management program, designing the new organization unit for regulatory affairs and performance monitoring, and for helping SEC to define service level agreements that will regulate the interactions between SEC and its subsidiaries.

"Our aim is to prepare our company and the industry to operate with maximum efficiency and effectiveness in an unbundled and eventually liberalized market," said Saud Al-Shammari, Restructuring Project Director and HR Senior Vice President of Saudi Electricity Company. "The challenge we have ahead of us is one of technology, culture and processes. Accenture’s strengths in the utilities sector will be of value as we transform our operations to meet our goals." — SG