The Electricité du Liban (EDL) has begun issuing bills according to the new pricing system, which will be calculated based on the Sayrafa Plus dollar rate. The issuance of the new bills started last week and will progressively cover all areas. The new electric bills, which began to be issued last week, will reach millions. The areas of Naqoura and Amioun were the first to start the new billing, with bills for the Antelias area expected to be issued today.
While Lebanese citizens are concerned about the million-league figures that they will see on their electricity bills for the first time, they find themselves stuck between "two cliffs": on one hand, the limited supply of electricity from EDL is insufficient, and on the other hand, they still cannot do without the expensive generator services which have also adjusted their bills according to the dollar rate in most areas. As a result, they are now forced to pay two hefty bills to receive around 12 hours of electricity daily.
According to information from "Al-Jumhuriya," the dollar rate used for billing is 52,320 Lebanese pounds, based on the Sayrafa Plus price set by the Central Bank, which involves adding 20% to the "Sayrafa" platform rate that was 42,600 pounds when billing started. EDL sources confirmed to "Al-Jumhuriya" that this rate will be uniform for all people when a bill is issued for a specific month, meaning that the Sayrafa rate will remain fixed for each billing cycle. For example, the same Sayrafa rate will be used for the bills of November and December for all subscribers, even if the Sayrafa rate fluctuates during the billing period. The billing calculation will be uniform for all subscribers.
These issued bills will pertain to November and December of the year 2022. It noted that a significant portion of the old bills has been settled, with very few remaining before all billing aligns with the new pricing mechanism. In response to a question, sources confirmed that they could not provide averages for the new electric bill prices, as consumption varies from household to household based on the number of amperes per hour. However, most bills will start from two million pounds (noting that the current bills pertain to two months).
Regarding whether a subscriber can request a reduction in the number of amperes in their home, especially since the new pricing has established a fixed monthly rate of 21 cents for every ampere, sources clarified that even in the old bills, the rate for a single ampere was set at 240 pounds. Some subscribers have requested to reduce the number of amperes per hour, noting that the minimum permissible reduction is 15 amperes.
As for whether a campaign to remove violations from the network has begun, which is one of the electricity plan's points that should integrate with raising rates and supply hours, sources stated that efforts are underway to address violations with accompanying security support.
It is worth mentioning that the new electricity tariff will be as follows:
- 10 cents for the first 100 kilowatt-hours,
- 27 cents for any consumption exceeding 100 kilowatt-hours,
- A fixed monthly rate of 21 cents for each ampere,
- $4.3 for rehabilitation fees.
The tariff will be calculated in pounds according to the "Sayrafa Plus" exchange rate and will be linked to the international oil price index.
