North Cyprus Government – Electricity Price Rise Reaction
Calls For Civil Disobedience.
Next Monday a rise in electricity prices takes force. 1-250kw will cost 18.42% more, 251-500kw 28.85% more and over 750kw will cost 29.23% more.
The TRNC Minister for Food, Agriculture and Energy, Onder Sennaroglu, said that KIB-TEK is facing a serious crisis because of problems collecting money from major consumers. He also said that they sell electricity below cost because former governments took no measures in the past two years to raise electricity prices in line with the increase of fuel oil prices as a result of currency flunctuations. He said that the debts of the public institutions, organizations and municipalities will be dealt with but did not explain how.
Afrika newspaper (13.11.13) calls on consumers not to pay their bills, because state institutions, municipalities, luxury hotels and universities do not pay, nor do those who are ‘influential’. The Halkin Sesi newspaper (13.11.13) reiterates this message, saying that the increase was like a “cold shower” for consumers and that the reaction of the community was very strong and that many organizations were calling for civil disobedience, asking consumers not to pay their bills.
EL-SEN, the KIB-TEK employees’ trade union, issued a statement saying that the solution to the problem was not increasing electricity prices, but was collecting money from major debtors who refused to pay.
It looks as if all the price rise will do will push more people into not paying and create a surge in civil disobedience against any attempt to cut off the power of the domestic consumers who refuse to pay their bills.
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