Households are to be charged the monthly regular average on utility bills for Ramadan

One of the biggest issues that citizens face during the month of Ramadan is the increasing bills, especially electricity and water bills. For years, citizens have been raising the issue of unreasonable bills following the month of Ramadan. Although these issues have been dismissed with the statement that people are simply using an increased amount of electricity and water, for almost all households the bill compared to the usage of electricity and water during the month of Ramadan seemed unreasonable.

With this, the complaints surrounding unreasonable bills have been a major concern around the month of Ramadan for years. In order to bring a resolution to this issue, the President of the Maldives Dr Mohamed Muizzu stated that the utility bills will be capped in order to alleviate financial burdens on citizens this Ramadan. Additionally, the President has directed the State Electric Company Limited (STELCO) to waive the MVR 30 charge imposed on islands where their services are provided. In addition to alleviating these burdens from households, the Government has also taken measures to reduce the financial strains on mosques this Ramadan. To do this, the Government had dedicated to charging council domestic rates rather than the Government rate for electrifying bills that are incurred by mosques. In addition to this, the Government has also revealed its plans to collaborate with utility companies in order to forgive utility bill fines.

And now, it has been revealed that utility bills during Ramadan will be charged on the monthly regular average. In order to carry this out, the utility bills will be drafted to clearly show the monthly amount which was generated in March this year, which is the month of Ramadan. Additionally, the amount that is offered as a discount for Ramadan as well as the amount of service utilised by the household will be showcased on the bill as well.