Consumers will not bear price hike in natural gas: Source

CAIRO – 22 October 2017: Consumers will not bear the approved increase in the prices of connecting natural gas to home consumers, a source in the petroleum sector said Sunday.

He said that the petroleum ministry, represented in the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS), will bear the hike.

EGAS has approved on Sunday to hike the prices of connecting natural gas to home consumers by LE 800, causing the total cost to increase to LE 1,800 per consumer.
The hike will be enacted retroactively starting July 2017.

The source said that the increase came to compensate gas companies after the losses they incurred as a result of floating the Egyptian pound and the consequent increase in the prices of production inputs.

In a statement to the Egyptian Exchange, EGAS said that it will incur such increase as of the beginning of July. The company said that it connects gas to some 150,000 consumers each year.