A Cabinet minister, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that in a meeting on Monday, Egypt's cabinet decided to increase electricity prices for high-level consumers.
"The new measure will be implemented in July," he said. "The increase could reach 30 percent, according to consumption."
The source added that the Cabinet disapproved any increases on low-level consumers.
Meanwhile, sources from the Electricity Ministry said the measure will raise electricity bills by LE6 billion. The electricity subsidy would be lifted gradually over the next five years.
Sources told Al-Masry Al-Youm that the ministry submitted a proposal to the Cabinet to collect a LE2 fee for bill issuance.
Several studies found that the average consumer price of electricity in Egypt is 23 PT/ kilowatt, while its real cost is 40 PT, which means that government funds LE17 billion, the sources added.
Studies showed that increasing prices by 20 percent will boost revenues from LE35 billion to LE41 billion.
The ministry also proposed increasing prices for lower segments, which consume no more than 50 kilowatts/month, to 5pt/kilowatt.
Also, prices for 100 kilowatts/month were proposed to be 8-10 PT/kilowatt.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
