Al-Sisi admits the high electricity prices exceeds the cost of the service

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Monday, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said the high electricity prices are not for the sake of high prices, but rather because there are other things related to the cost of the service, such as the quality of money collection and the amount of losses.

Al-Sisi’s statements came during an inauguration of a number of projects affiliated with the electricity sector in Upper Egypt.

In July, the Ministry of Electricity implemented an increase in the prices of household electricity consumption segments, with a rate ranging between 8.4% as a minimum, and a maximum of 26.3%. With this, prices have risen eight times in seven years. This comes within the framework of the state’s plan to restructure electricity prices and permanently lift subsidies.

The first increase was in July 2014, by 20%; the second in 2015 by 19%; and the third in 2016 by 40%. The fourth increase was in 2017 by 42%; the fifth in 2018 by 26%; the sixth in 2019 by 21%; and the seventh in 2020 by 30%. Finally, the current increase, in 2021, which amounts to more than 26%. It is noteworthy that during the same period, the government lowered prices for factories and the commercial sector and fixed them for five years.

Thus, the government’s support for electricity in the state’s general budget has completely disappeared during the current fiscal year. The state had allocated about 28 billion Egyptian pounds for electricity subsidies in the fiscal year 2015-2016, before the subsidy decreased year after year until the government put a zero in the box opposite the item, in the budget of last year and the current year. This ends the era of state support for electricity. However, the government announced the continuation of the annual increase in electricity prices until the year 2024-2025, which means that profits will be made from selling it to citizens. The increases in electricity prices, since El-Sisi took power in Egypt, reached a maximum rate of 860%.

The prices of the first electricity segment increased from five piasters in 2013 to 48 piasters this year, an increase of 860%; the second from 12 to 58 piasters, an increase of 404%; the third 340%; the fourth 265%; the fifth and sixth 141%; and the seventh 116%.