State Electric Company Limited (STELCO) has stated the electricity services provided for households were not suspended despite many bills not being paid in the past four months.
In a letter sent to the Secretariat of the Parliament, the state-owned utility company revealed it decided not to suspend the services provided for households despite bills not being paid considering the unfavourable situation faced by many individuals amid the COVID-19 pandemic. In the letter, STELCO highlighted most bills of the past four months remain unpaid.
Furthermore, STELCO said the electricity bills of April spiked by 6.09% on average compared to the same month of last year as people spent more time indoors. The utility company revealed the electricity bills of May this year increased by 2.59% on average compared to the same month of last year.
The government decided to subsidise 40% from all electricity bills and 30% from all water bills for the months of May and June, as part of the COVID-19 relief for the citizens. Ministry of Finance revealed USD 3.2 million was spent on electricity bills of 92,588 households as part of the relief efforts.