Running a household can cost less this year! From January onwards it will be possible to save up to 10% on electricity bills. The slower your Central Electricity Board (CEB) meter runs, the more money you will benefit.
No, this is not a joke! It is a government decision, announced by the Prime Minister himself in his New Year’s speech, to subsidise electricity bills for a vast majority of consumers.
Savings up to 80% of households
The CEB will thus be called upon to grant economically underprivileged Mauritian families a graduated scale of subsidies, based on a pre-established tariff grid. This scale is divided into four consumption levels, namely 110A, 110B, 110 and 120.
Regardless of the tier, the normal rates start from the consumption of the first 25 kilowatt-hours. The rate increases gradually over the next three 25 kilowatt hours and finally over the next 100 kWh. Consumers under 110A and 110B will receive a maximum subsidy of 10% on their bills, while those in the 110 and 120 categories will obtain 7% and 6% respectively.
The underlying principle is simple. The lower the consumption, the higher the subsidy. So those under the 110A social tariff, with a declared connected load of 300 watts or less, will get from a 10% discount. This will also apply to the 110B category.
The amount deducted as subsidy will appear on the electricity bills that will be issued as from February.
Nearly 385,000 households representing approximately 80% of CEB’s residential subscribers are to benefit from this government decision, which will run from January to December 2022.
Through this measure the state will achieve two important objectives: to relieve the budgetary burden of those at the bottom of the ladder and to encourage judicious energy use at the national level.
