New Utility Tariffs and Nitaqat Thresholds: What to Update in Your Feasibility Study

By Jadwai

On 25 October 2026, the Saudi Press Agency reported a royal directive of citizen support measures, coinciding with announcements by Saudi Energy and the National Water Company (NWC) of tariff adjustments effective 1 January 2027. For anyone preparing or updating a feasibility study, two of these changes touch core financial assumptions.

What was announced

• Electricity: Saudi Energy announced an adjustment to the electricity service tariff from 1 January 2027. Details are published on the company's website.
• Water and wastewater: NWC announced adjusted tariffs for residential, non-residential and government sectors from 1 January 2027.
• Nitaqat: the minimum wage a Saudi employee must earn to count fully toward Saudization under Nitaqat rises to SAR 5,000 six months after the measure takes effect, then to SAR 6,000 twelve months after the first increase. Media reports citing HRSD put these at April 2027 and April 2028.

HRSD has clarified that this is a threshold for counting Saudization, not a general mandatory minimum wage. Employees earning below it are counted partially or not at all, depending on the band.

Which assumptions to revisit

1. Operating costs (OPEX). If your project uses significant electricity or water (manufacturing, hospitality, food, cold chain, data), update the utilities line using the official tariff tables for your customer category. Don't apply a single percentage across the board.

2. Payroll and Saudization cost. If your plan relies on Saudi roles paid below the new thresholds, check how they will count in each phase. You may need to adjust salaries, headcount or role mix to keep your Nitaqat band, and the timing matters: phase one and phase two land in different years of your projection.

3. Sensitivity. Rather than a single new number, test ranges. What happens to NPV, IRR, payback and break-even if utilities and payroll rise more than expected?

How Jadwai helps

Jadwai structures a study around nine dimensions, including the five required by the MoF framework (Strategic, Economic, Commercial, Financial and Administrative).

• The Financial dimension covers annual costs and OPEX, financial statements and ratios including NPV, IRR, payback, break-even and sensitivity.
• The Administrative dimension covers governance, workforce and the Saudization plan.
• The Technical dimension includes utilities (electricity, water, fuel) and manpower.

Updating an assumption in one place helps you see its effect across the study, with weights that are clear to the user inside the platform.

This article is for general awareness, not legal or financial advice. Always check the official texts from SPA, Saudi Energy, the National Water Company and HRSD.

Want to review your study's assumptions? Contact us.