Minimum 10 percent discount on electricity bills during Ramadan

State Electric Company Limited (STELCO) each household will receive a minimum 10 percent discount on their electricity bill for Ramadan.

President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu recently announced that electricity and water bills will be discounted this Ramadan as well.

STELCO held a press conference on Wednesday to brief the media regarding how discounts will be applied to electricity bills this Ramadan which was decided based on the experiences of last Ramadan.

Speaking at the press conference, STELCO’s Senior Manager Mujthaba Mohamed detailed that discounts were applied to the electricity bill last Ramadan by comparing the charges incurred during Ramadan and the charges incurred during the previous months.

In this regard, he said discounts were applied based on the difference between the bill on Ramadan and the bills on the previous months.

“If normally, [MVR] 15,000 is incurred for the bill and [MVR] 2,000 is incurred for the bill in Ramadan, the discount will be difference between these amounts,” he added.

When the discount is applied this way, it is possible for the bill in Ramadan to be lower if the tenants of a household is away for any purposes. With consideration of such circumstances, Mujthaba said every household will receive a minimum of 10 percent on their bills. However, a maximum rate has not been decided.

Speaking further at the press conference, Mujthaba also disclosed changes to how meter readings will be taken to formulate bills. In this regard, he said reading will be collected at the end of each month starting from Ramadan.

He explained that the change was made to facilitate further easements in the payment of bills as it would coincide with the days the salary is disbursed. As such, he noted that the electricity bill would be sent the next day after the day the reading is taken.

“Then, for example, if the electricity bill is unusually high, they can check the difference between the reading on the bill and the reading on the meter,” he said.

President Muizzu has pledged to resolve the issue of hikes in utility bills during Ramadan. As such, electricity and water bills were discounted during last Ramadan as well.