Agency details new power tariffs for 2015

AMMAN — The Energy and Mineral Resources Commission (EMRC) on Sunday announced that the new electricity tariffs for households and other end users went into effect on February 16 and will be applied until December 31, 2015. 

The Lower House in January formed an ad hoc panel, representing the finance and energy committees, and tasked it with holding discussions with the government on the new electricity prices.

The discussions ended with a deal on January 21, under which the government accepted a compromise to increase electricity tariffs by 7.5 per cent instead of 15 per cent.

According to the new tariffs, household subscribers whose monthly consumption ranges between 1 and 160 kilowatt hours (kWh) will pay JD0.033 per kWh, according to a table EMRC published on its website.

The price of electricity for consumptions ranging from 161 to 300kWh in the new tariff is set at JD0.072 per kWh, while subscribers whose consumption ranges between 301 and 500kWh will pay JD0.086 per kWh.

Those who consume 501 to 600kWh, within the household subscription, will be paying JD0.114 per kWh, while households consuming 601 to 750kWh a month will pay JD0.158 per kWh. 

If a household’s consumption ranges between 751 and 1,000kWh, the price for each kWh will be JD0.188, while households with consumptions of more than 1,000kWh will pay JD0.265 per kWh. 

In 2014, the government increased prices of electricity for households and industries with a monthly consumption of more than 600kWh and 10,000kWh respectively, as part of a gradual hike in prices to offset the National Electric Power Company’s (NEPCO) debts, which are paid by the Treasury.

New tariffs for commercial subscriptions, whose monthly usage ranges between 1 and 2,000kWh is set at JD0.129 per kWh, while consumers of over 2,000kWh will pay JD0.181 per kWh, according to EMRC, which said that the banking sector will pay JD0.285 per kWh.

Small-sized industrial subscribers connected to low-voltage networks with loads up to 200 kilowatts and with consumption ranging between 1 and 10,000kWh will pay JD0.071 per kWh, while consumptions exceeding 10,000kWh will cost JD0.81 per kWh. 

Medium-sized industrial subscribers who are connected to 6.6, 11 or 33 kilovolt medium-voltage networks will pay JD0.089 per kWh during daytime and JD0.075 per kWh during nighttime.

According to EMRC, daytime starts at 7am and ends at 11pm, while nighttime ranges between 11pm till 7am of the next day, with the commission having the right to redefine it. 

Mining excavation industries, which are connected to 132 kilovolt high-voltage networks, will pay JD0.264 per kWh during daytime and JD0.197 per kWh during nighttime.

Other large industries connected to 132 kilovolt high-voltage networks will pay JD0.133 per kWh during daytime and JD0.109 per kWh during nighttime.

Miqdad Qadus, head of the tariff department at EMRC, told The Jordan Times that NEPCO has set peak hours to start half an hour before sunset and lasts for three hours, noting that the company announces peak hours on a monthly basis and provide them to related businesses.

Meanwhile, EMRC President Farouq Hiyari said subscribers will be compensated for any price difference in previous power bills, according to the Jordan News Agency, Petra.