EDL to slash electricity bills for thousands of householders

Electricity du Laos (EDL) will reduce electricity prices for households using less than 461kwh per month for the three months of April, May, and June as part measures to offset the financial impact of COVID-19 in the country.
The plan was revealed at a joint press conference chaired by Minister to the Prime Minister’s Office and Government Spokesman, Dr Chaleun Yiapaoheu; Minister of Energy and Mines, Dr Khammany Inthirath, and Acting Director of Electricite du Laos, Mr Chanthaboun Souk-Aloun on June 18.
The press conference took place following the conclusion of the monthly government meeting for June, which tabled electricity prices for discussion with public complaints concerning soaring bills, while the government announced measures to ease the financial burden amid the nationwide pandemic.
“The government has agreed on decreasing the rate for electricity for consumers who used not more than 461kWh per month, with EDL to recalculate the figures,” Dr Chaleun said.
“This policy must be realised for April, May, and June only during the COVID-19 epidemic,” he added.
EDL began implementing the new electricity price structure last month. For customers who use 0 to 150 kWh, the supplier charges 355 kip per unit (kWh) and levies 710 kip per unit for those households using more than 150 kWh per month.
According to Minister of Energy and Mines, Dr Khammany Inthirath, his ministry undertook studies to rebuild the electricity price structure in 2018, which will be implemented from this year to 2025.
He said the new structure, which was approved by the government, was more reasonable than the last one, which was divided into six ranges (0-25 kWh, 26-150 kWh, 151-300 kWh, 301-400 kWh, 401-500 kWh, and above 500 kWh) and now most power users will pay less.
However, the new structure resulted in users of more than 150 kWh to 461 kWh per month paying more for their bills, he said.

By Somxay Sengdara
(Latest Update June 22, 2020)