Parliament accepts emergency motion on high electricity bills

The Parliament, on Wednesday, has accepted an emergency motion calling to resolve the issue of high electricity bills observed in recent months.

The emergency motion submitted by main opposition MDP’s North Galolhu MP Mohamed Ibrahim was accepted by the unanimous votes of 61 members present.

MP Ibrahim, in his motion, underscored public concern surrounding the abnormally high bills issued by state-owned electricity providers, State Electric Company Limited (STELCO) and Fenaka Corporation in recent months. He noted that many members of the public turned to social media to question the high bills, while drawing comparisons to previous bills.

He also emphasized that bills lacked the details of the charges and therefore, called on providers to disclose these details to the public.

While debating on the motion, MDP’s Kendhoo MP Mauroof Zakir said the electricity providers should clarify why such a change has happened, whether it is due to something related to the electricity meter or something else. He called to switch billing for electricity at a flat rate.

Pro-government MPs also backed the emergency motion while debating.

In this regard, Mathiveri MP Hassan Zareer said the issue had been at hand even in the past five years, despite which STELCO and the government have yet to review the issue.

MDA’s Deputy President, Velidhoo MP Mohamed Abbas also reiterated that the issue had not surfaced today or yesterday, but has been occurring since 2014.

He underscored the need to quickly remedy this as high electricity bills continue to pose difficulties to not only the general public but also businesses.

Members of the general public are concerned that their electricity bills continue to increase every month despite the same usage. Some have even alleged no decrease in the bill despite a decrease in the use of electricity.

A few had staged a protest in May over the high electricity bills.