Egyptera to meet in two weeks to discuss pricing formula for July power bill hike: The Egyptian Electric Utility and Consumer Protection Agency (Egyptera) will meet in two weeks’ time to discuss the hike in power prices set to take place in July, government sources said yesterday. Egyptera is currently studying a number of proposals, including one that sees bills rising by no more than 40% for consumption levels ranging from 50-300 kWh a month, and no more than 58% for all other consumption tiers, according to the sources. Expectations also see the state cutting the amount earmarked for non-commercial power subsidies to EGP 39 bn in the FY2018-19 budget, down from EGP 43.3 bn, as it presses ahead with the gradual phase out of subsidies.

Electricity Minister Mohamed Shaker had announced plans to push the full elimination of subsidies from power bills to FY2020-2021 from FY2019-2020. He had also said in February that Egyptera officials were already working on a new pricing formula for a hike that would impact users from the lower- to the higher-end of the consumption spectrum, adding that the lowest tier of consumers would see a maximum increase of 15%.