Infuriated public rally against big hike in electricity bills
The government faced backlash over the issue back in April as well
Members of the public protested near STELCO
Infuriated members of the public have taken to the streets in protest of the massive hike in electricity bills for the month of May.
Protestors gathered in front of the State Electric Company (STELCO) at 4pm on Saturday to voice their concerns over the massive hike in electricity bills.
The rally saw the participation of some social rights activists as well as members of former President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom’s People’s National Front (PNF).
The public has been accusing the incumbent administration of President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu of tampering with the bills.
People have also been demanding the resignation of the owners of power utilities as well as senior government officials.
STELCO has since allocated a number for filing complaints related to electricity bills.
The company has urged customers to submit their complaints regarding electricity bills to its customer service and building number 7788438 via WhatsApp or Telegram.
This comes at a time the public had flooded social media with criticism over the recent hike in electricity bills.
The government faced backlash over the issue back in April as well.
Communities nationwide face the issue of surging electricity bills, every year during the hottest months.
Infuriated citizens have been taking to social media platforms to voice their concern over the inflation in electricity bills, stressing that the power tariff had increased four-fold during the previous months.
People have revealed that residences that do not exceed past MVR 700 in electricity bills per month, have been charged more than MVR 4,000 for electricity in the past month.
Some have alleged that the bills were wrongly calculated and that they were being charged for electricity they had not used, despite the ongoing heat wave.
The people have also been questioning whether or not there was an institution to look into the issue of surging electricity bills.
The issue of inflated electricity bills across households in the capital city came into the spotlight even on previous occasions.
Back then, STELCO revealed that the bills were high because of the consumption of electricity by the general public, due to high temperatures caused by global warming.
STELCO has since revealed that the company is working to respond to the complaints, within 24 hours.
