State Electric Company (STELCO) has addressed concerns regarding the accuracy of Ramadan electricity bill discounts, asserting that the discounts were calculated appropriately.
President Dr Mohamed Muizzu had previously announced an extension of discounts for electricity bills during Ramadan, explicitly targeting the portion of bills exceeding the average consumption rate. This initiative accommodated traditionally higher electricity consumption during the holy month.
The utility providers issued Ramadan bills based on the same average consumption rate as other months, in accordance with directives from the Utility Regulatory Authority.
Despite official assurances from the government and utility providers regarding discounts on household bills, numerous consumers have not noticed any changes in their Ramadan bills.
STELCO’s Managing Director, Hussain Fahmy, and his counterpart from Fenaka Corporation, Muaz Mohamed Rasheed, addressed these concerns during a press conference held at the President’s Office on Sunday.
Fahmy acknowledged consumer complaints but reassured the public that electricity use was billed accurately, attributing any perceived discrepancies to potential carryover from previous billing cycles. He noted challenges in meter reading during the first and last days of Ramadan due to the billing cycle but affirmed the correctness of the billed period.
Similarly, Fenaka Corporation’s leadership affirmed the accuracy of their meter readings for the month.
Both utility providers disclosed a combined revenue reduction of MVR 40 million due to the implementation of these discounts.
