Ye Township residents want a fair electricity fee

May 25, 2017

HURFOM: During a consultation with local residents on May 12^th 2017 in Ye City, Ye Township, Mon State, Chief Minister Dr. Aye Zan announced that all of Ye Township would have access to electricity within 18 months. In response, locals remarked that they expect to pay a fair electricity fee commensurate with other townships in Mon State.

“If we have electricity, the benefit is indescribable. Our Ye Township has had electricity hardships for a long time. Now, locals have to use the electricity provided by [private] companies and it’s a bit pricey. If the government is planning to provide the electricity, we want a fair electricity fee that is equal to [the fee paid by] others,” said Nai Ong Janae in R’ru Taung village, Ye Township.

Companies have been providing electricity in some villages of Ye Township and villagers have to pay up to 600 kyat per unit. State sponsored electricity costs only 35 kyat per unit, revealing a huge gap between the two prices.

“We dare not use the rice cooker. Sometimes, my children iron their clothes for only a few minutes. We use some [fluorescent] lights and watch some movies. We have to pay over 20,000 kyat every month,” continued Nai Ong Janae.

Companies provide electricity from 4:00 am to 6:00 am in the morning and from 6:00 pm to 10:00 pm in the evening. The villagers have two hours in the morning and four hours in the evening to use electricity.

Regarding electricity in Ye Township, there have been lots of promises from government officials and now locals do not trust in what the government promised to them.

“They [the government officials] have been talking about [providing] electricity for a long time. Every time, they say something different. We’re tired of hearing it. The local people don’t have much trust in what they say,” said Nai Oak Sar from Tong Pa Ran (Taung Pyin) village.

As there has been a government plan of establishing a coal-fired power plant in Ann Din village, Ye Township, local villagers are also worried that companies that provide the electricity in Ye Township will use coal energy.

Written by Modinator · Filed Under News