The Electricity Ministry has switched its customer service telephone operations for south Cairo to a call center that applies international standards on performance in responding to queries, the ministry said on Monday.
The move took place on August 21, the ministry said in a statement, with a similar move planned for north Cairo and Alexandria in the future.
Ctizens who have complaints about malfunctions or electricity bills can contact the call center by landline or mobile phones, either by dialling 121 or sending an SMS to 91121.
In August 2016, Egypt announced a sharp rise in electricity prices — up to 40 percent for households — as a prelude to the cancellation of electricity subsidies. The move was in line with a 2014 plan for the complete removal of state subsidies over the next few years.
Electricity Minister Mohamed Shaker said in an interview broadcast on Dream Channel in August that the state would take into account low-income customers when setting the new pricing system.
However, newspapers recently reported the case of a worker living in a two-room apartment in Daqahliya who had been stung with an enormous bill that he was unable to pay. In October 2016, he received a bill from the East Mansoura Electricity Company amounting to LE51,500, covering only the month of September.
Ahmed Aboul Enein, the worker, said, “I pay the monthly bills regularly. The highest bill I paid was LE170. I’m shocked to see the consumption had increased up to 73,176 kilowatt/hour in the recent bill.”
“The company claims all this electricity was consumed by two rooms and a hall in Mansoura. There are no air conditioners or devices that consume a lot of electricity. We only have a fan, a refrigerator and a TV,” he said.
Enein has filed a complaint with the electricity company, hoping to have the amount reduced to something like his normal monthly amount. However, the company has simply offered him the option of paying installments.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
