Households report electricity bills doubling after Ramadan discount ends, with Fenaka bills drawing widespread criticism

After the discounted electricity bill last Ramadan, the next bills have increased significantly.

Last Ramadan, President Dr Mohamed Muizzu announced that the maximum electricity bill for every household in the country would be MVR 400. Under this policy, all places billed at domestic rates received this relief, which brought major ease to the public. In addition, the government also paid the MVR 150 WAMCO fee included in electricity bills during this period.

Since then, electricity bills have increased and people are expressing their concerns on social media. Some households have seen their bills double compared to the previous year.

STELCO supplies electricity to the city while Fenaka supplies electricity to the atolls.

STELCO has not yet sent bills after the Ramadan billing cycle. However, people have expressed dissatisfaction with the high prices of the bills sent by Fenaka.

Some people are sharing screenshots on social media showing households whose electricity bills had never reached MVR 1,000 now receiving bills exceeding MVR 3,000.

Many people are criticising the government on social media.

In a Facebook post, a man named Hassan Shakeeb criticised the government for reducing the bill to MVR 400 during Ramadan and then adding the discounted portion this month. He also complained that households that previously paid MVR 700 are now being billed twice that amount.

Similar issues have occurred in the past.

Last year, electricity bills were also discounted during Ramadan, with a 10 percent reduction applied to each bill.

However, there were complaints that electricity bills remained high even after the discount. STELCO said the increase in electricity bills was due to the hot weather.

The government provides electricity to the public through state‑owned companies with a high subsidy, purchasing oil from foreign markets at high prices.