Several power projects have been launched to achieve this expansion, including upgrading existing power plants and building new power facilities. The government has also taken concrete steps towards restructuring and privatizing the power sector in order to make it more efficient and economically viable. A strategy to unbundle the power sector into transmission, generation, and distribution is also under review by the Saudi government. This tremendous potential for growth makes the Kingdom one of the world's most attractive markets for power generation, as well as for power transmission and distribution equipment. From 1975 to 1996, the generation capacity of all the power companies in the Kingdom increased 16 times, from 1,173 to 18,780 megawatts, not including power generated by desalination plants.
Desalination makes a significant contribution to Saudi Arabia's overall power generation.
Nine of the Kingdom's 25 desalination plants are dual system plants, generating 3,214 megawatts of electricity per day, and accounting for 33 per cent of the Kingdom's total capacity. In 1997 alone, the excess power transmitted to these companies was 3,224 megawatts. It is estimated that once the projects currently under way are completed, Saudi Arabia's desalination plants will be producing over 5,087 megawatts of electricity daily. According to the government's 25-year electricity plan, the growth in electricity demand in the Kingdom's five regions between 1995 and 2020 will average 4.5 percent. Demand growth in the last few years has been assessed at 15 percent per year.