Planned new fees on power and water are primarily aimed at promoting consumption rather than reaping money, a ranking official affirmed. No matter how high the fees may be, they will not match the actual production cost, affirmed Ministry of Electricity and Water’s Undersecretary Mohammad Boushehri.

Cutting consumption by 10 percent per day saves some $1.8 million daily, equivalent to $640 million per year. “This figure is not small particularly when considering projected consumption hike in the coming years,” he said. Simultaneously with the imposition of the new fees, the power department, in cooperation with the Ministry of

Information, is launching an awareness campaign titled “consume with responsibility.” The relevant regulations exempt private residences, which account to 40 percent of the consumption, in addition to excluding the citizen who lives in a rented apartment.

The new fees’ laws are applicable on the commercial sector as of February 22, 2018. The National Assembly (Parliament) approved, on April 26 2016, the relevant bill setting the rates for power and water consumption. The ministry has set the fees at five fils per kilowatt per hour (kWh) for the investment and commercial sectors, 25 fils for the government sector, three fils for the industrial and agricultural sectors, five fils for non-producing sectors, in addition to 12 fils for the other fields. As to the consumption of fresh water in the investment and commercial sectors the rates will be KD 2 per 1,000 imperial gallons, KD 4 for the government sector, KD 2.250 for industrial and agricultural facilities, KD 2 for chalets and stables.