Sharply increased electricity fee burdens Ye villagers

September 13, 2022

HURFOM The private sector electricity provider known as the Southern Myanmar Development (SMD) Company, has dramatically raised their prices.

In Northern Ye Township, Mon State, the SMD electricity fee for August jumped to 1,500 Kyat per kWh and each household was also charged an additional 7,500 Kyat for street lighting.

The company’s fee rate in July was just 1,250 per kWh and 5,000 Kyat/household for street lighting.

The streetlight fee increased by 30% within a month, prompting swift criticism from villagers. Despite the State Administrative Council changing the designation of Ye from a Township to a District, they have not arranged for state sponsored electricity services. Villagers are being left with no choice but to contract with a private electrical service provider.

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“We haven’t complained about the rise of household electricity fees as the price of gasoline is also high. We’ll limit our usage to manage the cost. But it’s totally unfair to increase the streetlight fee to 7,500 Kyat per month. It shouldn’t be like this. Normally, four households pay for one streetlight pole so the company is collecting a huge amount of monthly fees for a single streetlight pole. The company is exploiting villagers every month,” said a housewife from Northern Ye Township.

Sharp hikes in electricity fees is adding to the burden of increased prices for basic commodities.

Written by Modinator · Filed Under News