No power cuts for supported homes despite BD84m in unpaid bills

TDT | Manama

Email: mail@newsofbahrain.com

Despite BD84 million in overdue electricity bills, no supported Bahraini home on the first-account tariff has had its power cut since December 2022, the Ministry of Electricity and Water Affairs said.

The figures came in a reply to a parliamentary question from MP Hassan Ebrahim on the cost of producing electricity, how tariffs and state support are calculated, the scale of unpaid bills and the steps taken before supply is disconnected.

Using the latest audited figures from 2024, the ministry said Bahrain spends about BD550.8 million a year on producing, transmitting and distributing electricity.

Difference

The government covers about BD175 million of that, or 32 per cent, to meet the difference between the real cost of supply and the sums billed to home and business users.

Most of that support goes to Bahraini households under the first supported account category.

The ministry said supplying that group costs about BD182.9 million a year, while bill revenue stands at about BD41.3 million, leaving state support at roughly BD142 million. For commercial and industrial users, support stands at about BD30.7 million.

The cost of supplying that group reaches about BD284 million, against revenue of around BD253 million.

Cost

The ministry said the yearly cost breaks down into BD416.8 million for production, BD79m for transmission and BD55 million for distribution.

It added that the cost of each unit of electricity, measured in kilowatt-hours, is calculated on the yearly average of those three parts.

Arrears across all account types stand at about BD84 million, the ministry said. Supported Bahraini household accounts under the first-account category make up the largest share at BD34.6 million.

They are followed by commercial and industrial accounts at BD26.2m, unsupported Bahraini residential accounts at BD21.5 million and non-Bahraini residential accounts at BD1.6 million.

Account

From the start of the current legislative term in December 2022 until November 2026, the ministry said no supported Bahraini residential account under the first-account scheme had been cut off.

Over the same period, supply was cut in 15,554 cases.

They included 6,640 unsupported Bahraini residential accounts, 5,276 commercial and industrial accounts and 3,638 non-Bahraini residential accounts.

Amounts

The ministry said amounts owed are collected through a stepped process before any disconnection takes place.

That includes sending up to six notices over 53 days from the date the bill is issued, giving subscribers time to pay or settle what they owe.

It added that subscribers can also use payment options such as instalment plans and a fixed-payment service, which spreads electricity costs across the year to ease seasonal rises in bills.