Stresses Increase prices not surprise citizens

Egypt's Electricity Minister Mohammad Shaker, said that any increase in bills prices, next July would, will not be a surprise for the citizens, as part of the government five-year campaign to restructure subsidies and cut down on government expenses.

It is expected that Egypt will become the largest state in producing energy in the Middle East over the coming years, and will export the surplus to neighboring countries, after constructing new stations in cooperation with international companies, Shaker said.

The ministry managed in a short time to operate three power units, in Borollos, administrative capital and Beni Suef, with a unit's capacity of 400 MW, the minister added.

Regarding the impact of Egypt's decision to float the Egyptian pound, the minister said that his decision has had a profound impact on the electricity system, raising the cost of the electricity subsidy from EGP 30 billion to almost the double.

The government pays 43% of the value of the amount paid by the consumer, pointing out that the price reached to 91.2 penny per kilowatt, after the pound's flotation, and the average for the first 50 kilowatts sold at 11 piasters for the first tranche, and sold in the second at 15 piasters, the minister stated.

The number of the first tranche reached to 4.3 million subscribers, 3.1 million in the second tranche, while the third one reached to 8,000,880 million subscribers, Shaker added, saying" Numbers are amazing, and all the equipment we use in the production of electricity imported from abroad, were affected by liberalizing the exchange rate.

Electricity minister expected not to increase in electricity prices at the moment, after liberalizing the exchange rate and the ministry would stick to the plan of lifting subsidy.