Egypt: 12 million citizens decline to pay electricity bills

Approximately 12 million out of 29.7 million Egyptian electricity service subscribers failed to pay their electricity bills last month, a source in the Ministry of Power and Electricity told Quds Press. This number accounts for 32 per cent of the total subscribers.

The source attributed the low collection rates to the refusal of a number of subscribers to pay their bills for various reasons, including the fact that the ministry required citizens to pay an extra “cleanliness” fee with the electricity bill despite the deteriorating levels of cleanliness and regular power outages.

Additionally, the source pointed out that a number of companies are currently studying the possibility of resorting to overdrafts to repay their obligations and workers’ salaries.

“Specific directives have been issued to prioritise wages of civil servants at the expense of any other commitments,” the source said. “The financial crisis suffered by companies threatens the ability of the holding company to meet its financial obligations towards international donors.”