State Electric Company Limited (STELCO) has announced its decision to offer a 40% discount on the electricity bill for June.
Stating it has received concerns regarding an increase in the electricity bills for June, STELCO said it is now attending to the concerns. Managing Director of STELCO Hassan Mughunee said the bills that have been issued is higher following the initial decision of the government not to subsidise electricity bills for June. Additionally, he stated June also saw a higher consumption of electricity as the month was relatively more humid which caused electricity bills to soar.
He explained the bills were calculated by using an average of the past three months, as the staff were unable to go to collect metre readings due to the lockdown imposed in the Greater Male' Region. Hence, STELCO requested households to send a photo of the meter readings.
The managing director urged the public to adopt a lifestyle that consumes less electricity as STELCO is also putting various efforts to reduce electricity expenses. He called on the public to be cautious and limit usages as the systems in place in the Maldives currently elevates bills comparatively based on more electricity and water usages.
STELCO is currently working to introduce smart metres to better manage bills and metre readings. Mughunee said the state-owned utility company has now decided to offer a 40% discount on electricity bills for the month of June, while households and businesses will also be allowed to settle bills in installments. He said such requests can be made for 14 days starting from Sunday.
STELCO has decided to offer installments considering the financial status of the households amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The company also promised not to discontinue power services despite a delay in settling bills.
Following growing concerns regarding higher electricity bills for the month of June, the case has also been submitted to the Parliament of the Maldives to summon the senior management of STELCO for an inquiry.