An informed source from the electricity ministry said the government agreed to increase electricity prices for sectors with high consumption, adding that the financial deficit in the ministry has reached around LE18 billion.
The source said that the new prices would be declared within the coming few days.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the source said that Cabinet meetings over the past two days agreed to increase electricity prices. "The controversy over the prices of gasoline and diesel oil is not over yet," the source said, adding that their increase would be slight.
The source continued saying that the deficit within the ministry’s budget stems from low revenues from electricity bills, adding that 23 percent of consumers do not pay for the bills regularly which prompted the ministry to draft a memorandum addressing the issue. The memorandum includes measures against those consumers in order to guarantee the rights of the electricity companies.
The source also said that an increase in the monthly salaries of the ministry workers to "unprecedented levels" worsened the crisis.
Meanwhile, the Egyptian Electric Utility and Consumer Protection Regulatory Agency (EGYPTERA) stressed the necessity of reducing consumption to help limit power cuts
The ministry said that a total of 2,700 megawatts of usage was reduced on Monday, while expected usage reached around 24,000 megawatts. Another source said that usage was reduced by 3,275 megawatts, while the total deficit in fuel reached 1,800 megawatts.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
