Above 650KW of electricity consumption to be excluded from subsidies: Min.

CAIRO – 9 June 2020: “Exceeding consumption of 650 kilowatts per month will be excluded from subsidies and will bear the actual cost of the kilowatt per hour,” Minister of Electricity Mohamed Shaker said Tuesday.

Shaker said during a press conference to announce the new prices for electricity strips that the rate of the new increase for the domestic sector will be 19.1 percent, down from 21 percent in 2019/2020.

He affirmed that the state will bear LE 22 billion to support the industrial sector during the next 5 years after fixing the electricity price for the industrial sector for the next 5 years.

He pointed out that that President Abdel Fatah el-Sisi directed the extension of the plan to lift the subsidies for another 3 years.

Shaker clarified that the plan to rationalize electricity subsidies began in 2015, and was planned to end in July 2019 to fully liberalize the prices of subsidies, and to hold citizens accountable for the cost of kilowatts. With the rise in the price of the dollar during 2017, President Sisi directed the extension of the subsidies lifting plan to 8 years instead of 5 years, to reduce the burden on citizens.

“The ministry has already developed a new plan extending the process of lifting subsidies until July 2021,” he noted.

The minister pointed out that all readings are photographed and saved, noting that he follows all the complaints of citizens himself.

Shaker said that by the end of 2020, the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company will have finished adding 6,000 km of new transmission lines to raise the efficiency of the network and eliminate interruptions caused by the voltage drop.