A source with the Electric Utility and Consumer Protection Regulatory Agency announced that the agency has finalized proposals on a new increase in electricity rates, expected to be applied starting July 2017, al-Shorouk news website reported on Tuesday.
The source told al-Shorouk that the low-income segments of electricity consumers have received great attention from the agency.
An increase of 15 percent instead of 30 percent will be applied on the low-income segments, taking into account the current economic and living conditions, the source added.
The Electricity Regulatory Committee agreed unanimously on the application of an increase from 35 to 40 percent on high-consumption segments, the source said.
The application of an increase is inevitable on all the segments of consumers, due to the huge losses that the electricity sector has been suffering since the flotation of the pound, said the source, pointing out that losses amounted to LE1.45 billion.
An official source with the Ministry of Electricity revealed that the expected increase to be applied on the first segment of clients, who consume between "0 to 50 kW" will be about 20 percent, which would save up to LE450 million per month of the losses incurred on the current prices.
The increase in the second segment, consuming between "51 to 100 kW" will be 25 percent, which would save around LE 800 million per month; while the increase in the third segment, consuming between "100 to 200 kW" will be 30 percent, saving around LE3 billion per month. The increase applied on the fourth segment, consuming between "201 to 350 kW" will be 35 percent, saving around LE3.5 billion per month, according to the source.
As for the increase that will be applied on the fifth segment, consuming between "351 to 650 kW", it will be in the order of 30 percent, leading to savings of around LE2 billion per month. The increase in the sixth segment, consuming between "651 to 1000 kW" will be 30 percent, saving LE200 million; and in the seventh segment, consuming over 1,000 kW, the increase will be calculated at 20 percent, according to the official source.
