The Ministry of Water and Electricity has decided to strictly enforce thermal insulation for all new buildings in the Western region beginning from the third quarter of 2013 as defaulters would not receive power.
“Electricity connections will not be given to new buildings licensed after this date except after making sure they applied thermal insulation,” the ministry said yesterday.
Saudi Electricity Company’s technicians will inspect new buildings under construction to make sure they follow the regulation. The ministry will organize a meeting in Jeddah on Tuesday to enlighten the public on the need to apply thermal insulation in buildings. A source said power would be cut as a penalty at noncompliant construction sites. He said the task (of inspecting the implementation of the royal order) required the SEC to hire more manpower and allocate more funds. SEC will establish an independent administration for thermal insulation inspections and recruit 32 inspectors in Riyadh and 37 in Eastern Province as well as five supervisors. The company is coordinating with municipalities.
More than 65 green-building projects have been launched in Saudi Arabia during the last two years and that 20 percent of Middle East’s green buildings are in the Kingdom.