The government has decided to apply the fifth phase of planned electricity fee increases in November, according to an official source. A 7.5-percent fee increase on electricity consumed in November would be included on electricity bills issued the following month, the source noted. Egypt's Council of Ministers first approved the fee hikes in 2004, but postponed their implementation until 2009 in light of the unfolding global financial crisis. Earlier phases had involved incremental 5-percent increases. This time, however, the Electricity Ministry plans to raise fees by an additional 2.5 percent in order to pay its outstanding debts to the Petroleum Ministry for energy supplies purchased earlier, according to the source. The ministry also decided to levy the additional fees after investment in the energy sector rose to a total of LE2 billion in 2009, said the source, who went on to point out that low-income households would be exempted from the increase. Currently, an estimated 4.5 million citizens--whose total monthly electricity consumption stands at less than 50 kilowatts--fall into the latter category. The source also pointed out that the fee hikes would not be applied to energy-intensive industries, since these had already been subject to increases in separate increments levied three months ago. Translated from the Arabic Edition.
