The coronavirus crisis has cast a shadow this year on the annual collections of the Ministry of Electricity and Water (MEW), with the value from January until early September totaling only KD96 million, compared to last year’s collections that exceeded KD300 million. This was despite the increase in customer consumption rates by 25 percent this year, as many citizens and expats remained in the country during the current summer months, Al-Rai daily reported.
There are several reasons behind the decline in the value of collections for this year, which was attributed by informed sources in the ministry to the ministry’s leniency in collecting its dues regularly, especially from those with large bills.
The sources added, “Among the reasons also is the suspension of work in the consumer affairs offices for a long period at the beginning of the crisis, which prevented the ministry from collecting large dues, especially from owners of the investment and commercial sectors, in light of the failure of all customers to go for online payment methods through the ministry’s apps.”
The daily said, quoting sources that most consumers have stopped paying their bills over the past six months, which requires the ministry to take serious steps to return to collecting dues as it did in its previous stage before the coronavirus crisis, especially as Kuwait incurs billions annually to provide services to all its customers.
The sources said, “The ministry must restart implementing procedures for collecting dues. Otherwise, the bills will accumulate on consumers, and then it will be difficult for them to pay all at once. The ministry will then be forced to return to square one of taking pledges from residents to pay their dues with a monthly payment plan.”
The ministry’s leniency in collecting its dues will deprive Kuwait’s treasury this year of KD300 million, the total collection that was expected, and more so as it was anticipated the Ministry’s collections for the current year would exceed KD450 million following a consumption tariff increase.