State-owned power utility Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) has agreed terms and signed an interest-free loan of 49.4 billion riyals ($13.17 billion) with the kingdom's Ministry of Finance, the company said in a statement on Thursday.

The loan has a lifespan of 15 years but there is a grace period of 10 years before repayments begin, the statement to Riyadh's bourse said.

SEC in March said a royal decree had granted it the soft loan to help fund power generation projects, subject to the completion of talks with the ministry.

The company plans to spend 622 billion riyals to 2023, adding 40,000 megawatts of installed generating capacity and expanding transmission and distribution networks, SEC chief executive Ziyad Alshiha said at the time.

He added that power usage in Saudi Arabia had risen by around 7 to 8 percent a year over the last decade and would continue to rise.  - Reuters