EMRC to announce mechanism for household electricity subsidy

AMMAN — The Energy and Mineral Regulatory Commission (EMRC) on Tuesday issued a statement clarifying inaccurate information regarding the electricity tariff that was announced in mid-August and will go into force as of April 1.

In a statement to The Jordan Times, the EMRC said that for subscribers with more than one electricity meter registered in their names benefiting tenants or children, they deserve the subsidy if they are the heads of families and meet the required conditions. 

The EMRC said that it is not a requirement for the meter to be registered with the name of the beneficiary who will receive the subsidy electricity tariff. Every beneficiary can transfer the ownership of the meter if they want to, the EMRC added, stating that electricity distribution companies were asked to facilitate the ownership transfer of meters for free until the end of June.

The commission stressed that most Jordanians in the household sector will not feel any change on their monthly bills if they are less than JD50 (if the consumption is less than 600 kilowatts/hour), and that the electricity bill costs might even drop slightly. 

As for those with higher consumption and who deserve the subsidy, they will continue to benefit from the subsidy on the first subsidies categories.

The EMRC reminded the public that restructuring the electricity tariff is aimed at directing the government subsidy to Jordanian households, in addition to reducing the power bills on several vital economic sectors, such as the commercial, industrial, hotel and agricultural sectors and hospitals. 

The new tariff cancelled the maximum load tariff for all sectors, which will contribute to reducing operational costs and consequently increasing their competitiveness and creating more jobs.

The EMRC said that there are two categories for subsidy for the household sector: The first is a fixed subsidy that is directly deducted from the bill with a value of JD2 to JD2.5 depending on the consumption, while the second category will be determined according to the consumption categories that have been reduced from seven to three according to this link: https://emrc.gov.jo/Pages/viewpage?pageID=368

As for registering for beneficiaries of the household sector, the EMRC said that it would announce the mechanism during the next few days.