STELCO Signs to Collaborate on Researching Rising Electricity Bills
The State Electric Company (STELCO) and the Maldives National University (MNU) have entered into a partnership to conduct an academic study on rising electricity bills.
The agreement was signed yesterday by STELCO’s Managing Director, Hussain Fahumy, and MNU’s Vice Chancellor, Dr. Aishath Shehenaz Adam.
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The study will scrutinise all electricity bills issued by STELCO from 2014 onwards, and its findings will be published publicly. Speaking at the signing ceremony, Fahumy highlighted the diverse opinions on the current billing system and emphasised the need for an impartial academic investigation.
Dr. Shehenaz outlined that the primary goal of the study is to foster academic research in the field of electricity while also providing higher education and internship opportunities. The study will focus on several key areas.
These include determining electricity consumption levels at different times of the day, identifying seasonal variations in electricity consumption, examining the transparency of STELCO’s billing process and identifying potential improvements, checking for discrepancies between the amounts shown on electric meters and billed amounts, and verifying bill calculations and checking for inconsistencies.
Dr. Shehenaz added that the study will also explore methods for economising electricity and identifying ways to reduce consumption.
This initiative comes in response to growing public criticism over increasing electricity bills. Last month, many residents took to social media to express their concerns about the rising costs. STELCO, which supplies electricity to over 70,000 households in the Malé area, has reported that power demand during peak hours has reached 100 megawatts, with this year’s peak demand soaring to 113 megawatts. To address the issue of rising electric bills, STELCO plans to conduct household audits.
According to STELCO, electricity consumption has been increasing by approximately 8 to 10 per cent annually. Based on current trends, the company estimates that peak hour demand could rise to 120 megawatts within the following year.
