Jordan- Cabinet decides raise in electricity bills 

(MENAFN - Jordan Times) The government on Saturday raised electricity rates on households consuming over 600 kilowatts per hour.

According to the Jordan News Agency, Petra, the Cabinet, during a session on Saturday, approved a 6 per cent increase in tariffs on households consuming over 750 kilowatts per hour, which currently pay a JD67 bill.

Houses consuming over 1,000 kilowatts per hour, or paying a JD103 electricity bill, will face a 12 per cent increase, while those using "thousands of kilowatts" will suffer a 35 per cent increase in electricity rates.

Households paying a JD50 electricity bill or less will not be affected by the decision, according to the government, which claimed that these consumers constitute 88 per cent during peak hours.

For the commercial sector, subscribers consuming less than 2,000 kilowatts per hour every month, with around a JD185 bill, will not be affected by the hike. These, according to Petra, constitute around 90 per cent of commercial subscribers.

Those consuming over 2,000 kilowatts will incur a 20 per cent increase.

All activities of the agriculture sector and small businesses are spared the hike, according to the Cabinet statement, while the medium-sized industries will pay a 5 per cent hike and large industries (other than mining) 14 per cent, Jordan Armed Forces 10 per cent, and TV, radio and satellite TV stations 24 per cent.

The changes approved by the Cabinet will go into effect on Tuesday, June 6, according to Petra.

The price hike comes amid ongoing disruptions in Egyptian gas, which have cost the Kingdom some JD5 million per day, pushing the budget deficit to a near-record JD2.08 billion.

Egyptian gas supplies, which have been the target of a series of acts of sabotage, currently hover around 30 million cubic feet, some 10 per cent of the 300 million cubic feet required to fuel the country's power plants.