Arakan residents object to higher power bills

23 Jul 2019

Thet Naing | DMG

July 23, Sittwe

Members of the public are complaining about a massive increase in electricity bills in some townships of Arakan State. 

Ko Nyein Chan, who is a lawyer from Thazin law supporting group based in Sittwe, said that electricity bills suddenly increased six-fold in June.

“The government might need to increase electricity prices but they should not increase prices by six times,” he said.

The higher bills for electricity are causing many difficulties for grassroots people.

“We just want to be charged for electricity like before. The price for everything is going up because commodity prices are up. We are finding it difficult to live and eat,” said a Sittwe resident Daw Hla May. 

Sittwe township’s electricity department said that the reason bills were high in June was because some households had been charged less than actual usage in previous months. Because new electricity rates were introduced on July 1, the department charged households for all unpaid units under the old rate.

U Kyaw Thein, a Sittwe resident who owns a guesthouse, said that electricity bills shouldn’t increase all of a sudden because it will create impromptu problems for everyone. 

“Instead of spending over MMK 10,000 (USD 6.7) in a normal situation, now we have to spend more than MMK 40,000 (USD 26.7) this month. We’re far from happy when a bill increases up to three times from its previous price,” he said. 

The ministry of electricity and energy announced that the electricity bills will be increased starting from July 1 so that they can create the better power system and provide the electricity to the places that don’t have power yet. 

Starting from July 1, the electricity price will be MMK 35 per a unit under 30 units and MMK 125 per unit for spending over 200 units. The households which use up to 100 units per month have to pay from MMK 3,500 (USD 2.3) (current price) to 6,050 (USD 4) (new price).