Residents in Sharurah Governorate, southern Saudi Arabia, are now receiving financial compensation for the recent weekend power outages during a heatwave!
According to Okaz newspaper, residents received text notifications from the Saudi Electricity Company confirming their compensation. Each affected subscriber will receive two thousand riyals, credited directly to their accounts. The text messages also included apologies for the outage that occurred on Friday, July 12, 2024.
Over 100,000 residents in the Najran region were left without electricity
The Saudi Electricity Regulatory Authority (SERA) mandated this compensation following prolonged power outages that left over 100,000 residents in the Najran region without electricity. The outages happened during a significant heatwave, highlighting the challenges of maintaining power during the high-demand summer months. SERA instructed the electricity company to ensure all affected residents receive compensation within ten days, without the need to file claims. Additionally, the company must contact all consumers in Sharurah to apologize and inform them of their compensation, while providing dedicated lines for inquiries or complaints.
Power should typically be restored within six hours of an outage
Al Watan, another local newspaper, explained that the Guaranteed Electricity Service Standards Manual requires service providers to restore power within six hours of an outage. If this standard is not met, the provider must compensate each consumer with 200 riyals, plus an additional 50 riyals for every extra hour beyond the six-hour mark.
The Saudi Electricity Company has been urged to prioritize communication and customer service in handling such disruptions, ensuring that residents are promptly informed and compensated for any future outages.