Electricity company extorts villagers in Southern Ye with unannounced fee rate

February 21, 2024

HURFOM: The Southern Myanmar Development Company, a private electricity distributor in Southern Ye Township, Mon State, increased its fees for street lighting to 10,000 MMK per month in January, 2025. Villagers view the increase as extortion.

In December 2023, its fees for street lighting were 8,000 MMK per month and suddenly in January, 2024, without public notice increased their rates.

“The electricity bill and the street light fee are not consistently collected for three or four months. They increase the residential usage bills or they increase the street light fees. They do as they like. They never inform us. We only learned about the increase when we saw the bill. The increase isn’t just 100 or 200 MMK. It’s 2,000 MMK per billing period. We can’t organize a protest because of the current political situation so they are extorting us– doing as they want,” said a woman from Southern Ye Township.

Every household has to pay for street lights even if some do not receive the service.

“Some houses on small lanes don’t get the street light but they have to pay the fee. At first, the street light fee was just 2,000 MMK but now, it’s reached up to 10,000 MMK,” said another resident.

The “Southern Myanmar Development Company” collects 2,000 MMK for 1 kWh from Maw Ka Nin, La Mine, Kaw Dut, Thaung Pyin, Thaung Pone, Hnit Ka Yin and Tha Pyay Thit villages, all of which have no choice but to buy electricity from the company.

“We have to pay the fee even if it isn’t affordable for us. We have to pay the fee even if we aren’t satisfied,” said a woman from Southern Ye Township.

Written by HURFOM · Filed Under News