126SHIFTING GEARS IN SAUDI ARABIAOn the other hand, as table 8.1 shows, most prices remained heavily
subsidized and well below international benchmarks. Unlike Dubai’s
across- the- board increase to electricity prices, residential rates in Saudi
Arabia were initially only raised on higher consumption brackets to
discourage waste. The target was the “fat cats,” the rich households
in sprawling villas consuming disproportionate shares of subsidized
electricity.^23
The jump in water prices caused the biggest outcry.^24 When Saudis
complained, the minister of water and electricity, Abdullah al- Hasin,
suggested they drill their own wells. Not only was al- Hasin’s statement
an empathy- deficient “let them eat cake” moment, but an increase in well
drilling would only put more pressure on already overstressed aqui-
fers. King Salman quickly fired al- Hasin.^25 Soon after, his ministry was
reorganized.
In 2018, the Saudi government acted on subsidies a second time, rais-
ing some prices significantly and leaving others alone. Gasoline and elec-
tricity prices saw the biggest increases. High- octane gasoline began sell-
ing inside the kingdom for an unheard-of $2.09 per gallon, approaching
prices in the United States. Most surprising was the hike in electricity
prices for small amounts of consumption; a measure meant to protect
the poor had fallen by the wayside. The price rose 260 percent, from
1.4 cents to 5 cents per kWh.
But the poor had not been abandoned. A week before the price
increases went into effect, the government launched the Citizen’s Account
program, distributing $533 million in cash replacement benefits for low-
and middle- income families. Inaugural monthly payments went to 3
million households (13 million Saudis), a bit more than half of the citizen
population. Checks ranged from $80 to a maximum of $250. A fifth of
the families that registered for a Citizen’s Account received nothing, pre-
sumably because their income was deemed too high.^26 The cash stipends
were aimed to assuage some the sting of higher energy prices as well as
the introduction of another allegedly taboo policy, a value- added tax.^27
The government held firm on bot h rounds of price increases. A lt hough
Saudis did not pour into the streets in protest, they made their griev-
ances known on Twitter. Some Saudis argued that subsidy cuts were the