Biography

Salaheddine is a senior associate in Consulting. His current work scopes include energy market restructuring, modeling, and regulation.

Before joining KAPSARC, Salaheddine worked as a research associate at the Centre for International Research on Environment and Development (CIRED), a National Centre for Scientific Research lab in Paris, as part of the integrated economy–energy modeling team. He also worked as an economist in the energy markets and environmental regulation unit of the utility group Électricité de France (Paris).

Salaheddine holds a Ph.D. in Economics from Paris-Saclay University (France). His doctoral dissertation assessed potential economic and energy transition pathways for Saudi Arabia. He also holds an M.Sc. in Energy Economics and Law from the University of Montpellier (France), and an M.Sc. in Finance from the Aix-Marseille School of Economics (France).

Publications

See all Salaheddine’s publications

Impacts of Global Climate Policies on Middle Eastern Oil Exporters: A Review of Economic Implications and Mitigation Strategies

Climate policies are tightening in an effort to curb carbon dioxide emissions. As a result, global oil demand may peak and gradually decline, causing oil prices to fall. A structural fall in oil prices may have serious implications for Middle Eastern oil exporters. Many studies attempt to estimate the economic implications of climate change response measures for oil exporting countries. However, they have not reached a consensus regarding the magnitude of these implications.

21st March 2023

Regional Fuel Consumption and Carbon Dioxide Emissions in Saudi Arabia: Impacts of Electricity Price Reforms

Evaluating the potential outcomes of energy price reforms is essential for policymakers to assess their effectiveness. In 2016 and 2018, the Saudi government enacted two waves of energy price reforms to curb historically fast-growing electricity demand. We quantify the effects of these measures on regional fuel consumption and carbon emissions.

5th March 2023

Cross-seasonal Fuel Savings from Load Shifting in the Saudi Industrial Sector

Load shifting, that is, moving demand from peak to off-peak hours, is an important type of demand response. It can reduce the overall operating costs of a power system and improve the reliability of the power grid. This study estimates the financial implications of load shifting in the Saudi industrial sector. We use a national Saudi power system dispatch optimization model to simulate three scenarios. With this model, we quantify the impacts of shifting industrial loads from the peak summer to the off-peak winter months, keeping industrial electricity tariffs unchanged.

11th April 2022

Projecting Saudi Sectoral Electricity Demand in 2030 Using a Computable General Equilibrium Model

Projecting future demand for electricity is central to power sector planning, as these projections inform capacity investment requirements and related infrastructure expansions. Electricity is not currently economically storable in large volumes. Thus, the underlying drivers of electricity demand and potential market shifts must be carefully considered to minimize power system costs.

9th September 2021

Assessing the Role of Renewables in Reducing Emissions in the Saudi Power Sector Using Mixed-Integer Optimization

Renewable energy (RE) technologies are viewed as a critical means of reducing power sector-related emissions. Using mixed-integer optimization, we evaluate the extent to which renewable energy reduces carbon emissions in the Saudi power sector.

2nd June 2021

The Current State and Future of Clean Hydrogen Projects Worldwide

This data insight reviews clean hydrogen projects worldwide that are listed in the Hydrogen Projects Database of the International Energy Agency (IEA 2021), which covers hydrogen projects for “energy or climate change mitigation purposes” based on electrolysis, fossil fuels with carbon capture and storage (CCS), or other technologies.

25th May 2022

Saudi Electricity Demand Drops for the First Time on Record

Since 1990, Saudi Arabia’s electricity consumption has risen rapidly and consistently, at an average rate of around 6% per year. This growth rate is considerably high when compared with the global average growth rate of 3% and 4.8% in developed countries. In 2012, Saudi Arabia established the Saudi Energy Efficiency Center (SEEC) and Saudi Energy Efficiency Program (SEEP) to curb inefficient electricity consumption.

12th October 2020

Saudi Electricity Demand for 2018-2019 based on Saudi Electricity Company Data

Saudi electricity demand grew by 5% per year between 2010 and 2018. The Saudi government implemented two energy price reforms, in 2016 and 2018, which included significant electricity tariff hikes. The government also implemented a range of efficiency measures to mitigate electricity demand growth. Since 2016, Saudi electricity demand has flattened at around 300 terawatthours (TWh).

21st June 2020

Impact of the COVID-19 Lockdown on Electricity Demand: Global Insights and Implications for Saudi Arabia

The impact of curfews and lockdowns on total electricity demand as a result of the spread of COVID-19 depends on many factors. This insight provides a summary of the immediate demand impacts in selected regions around the world due to lockdown measures. We will follow this up with a second insight, presenting several scenarios for the evolution of electricity demand in Saudi Arabia for the rest of 2020.

11th June 2020

Fostering Net-Zero Transition Pathways: The Role of Clean Hydrogen

In early 2022, 80 countries (including Saudi Arabia), representing around 74% of global greenhouse gas emissions, pledged to reach net-zero emissions (NZE) in the coming decades. Achieving these ambitious climate policy objectives requires shifting the energy mix toward existing and emerging low-carbon technologies.

8th December 2022

If Renewable Energy is Getting Cheaper, Why Are Electricity Prices Increasing?

In this commentary, we discuss the impact of renewable energy penetration on end-user electricity prices driven by the observed development in European countries since 2000. We conclude with a discussion on how Saudi Arabia is benefiting from its development of renewable energy.

6th June 2021

Overview of Saudi Electricity Demand (1970–2018)

Saudi Arabia’s demand for electricity is undergoing unprecedented changes. In recent years, the government has implemented several efficiency measures and pricing reforms to curb demand growth. These measures started delivering concrete results in 2016. After decades of rapid growth, the Kingdom’s electricity demand started flattening and eventually fell for the first time on record in 2019 (Soummane 2020). This commentary traces the evolution of Saudi electricity demand over the past half-century.

29th March 2021

Modeling Cross-seasonal Fuel Savings From Load Shifting in the Saudi Industrial Sector and Interlinkages to Export Revenues

Science Direct

2023

Assessing Effects of Renewable Deployment on Emissions in the Saudi Power Sector Until 2040 Using Integer Optimization

Science Direct

2021

The Integration of Climate Action into Economic Development and Stimulus Measures: Policy Options for the G20

T20

2020

Related workshops

See all workshops

31 Mar

Future Trends of Saudi and Regional…

This webinar is co-hosted with the Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) Understanding and projecting long-term electricity demand is a fundamental input for power system expansion. It is also a tool for investment planning and energy policy formulation. Saudi and the region’s electricity demand has been growing at a fast pace over the past decades for several […]

Salaheddine Soummane

Senior Associate