MUSCAT: Subscribers who are facing financial hardships can pay their power bills in instalments, provided they sign an agreement with the electricity company, a top official at the Authority for Public Services Regulation (APSR) said.
Complaints by citizens and residents are growing over unusually high electricity bills. The hashtag #HighElectriciryBills has been trending since last few weeks. However, Hilal Bin Mohammed Al Ghaithi, Director General of Customer Affairs at APSR said protecting the interest of the subscribers is “one of the responsibilities of the regulator.”
“The electricity tariff is under continuous review and the possibility of adding other categories of support is on the table. Our responsibility is to protect the interest of the subscribers,” he said in an interview with Arabic Radio Al Wisal.
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Al Ghaithi said the electricity company is obliged to sign an installment agreement with the subscriber. “Any subscriber facing difficulty in paying the dues can convey the message to the company. They are obligated to listen to the subscriber and will help him/her in paying the amount in instalments according to his capabilities, and the company is obliged to sign an installment agreement with the subscriber,” Al Ghaithi added.
Many citizens and residents were taken aback by their electricity bills having doubled, or even tripled, in the past month. “When I enquired, they said it could be because the subsidies have been removed and maybe because we consuming more than what we used to previously because of summer but this time last year even when we were in lockdown due to pandemic, the bill used to be below OMR 15,” Al Hashmi said speaking to The Arabian Stories.
Last week, in a detailed statement, APSR said it will look into the issue of inflated bills. “In the event that the licensed companies do not comply with the regulatory frameworks of the calculation mechanism, the Authority will intervene in favour of the subscriber to amend the calculation based on the bases it has approved, in accordance with the legal powers granted to it,” the statement from APSR said.
