House panel says further increase in electricity tariffs unacceptable

AMMAN — The Lower House Financial Committee on Wednesday told officials that it was not going to accept any increase in electricity tariffs next year due to the drop in oil and gas prices.  

During a meeting with representatives of the National Electric Power Company (NEPCO), officials said the company managed to reduce its losses during the first half of this year.  

The meeting, chaired by the committee’s president, Yousef Qorneh, is in line with the panel’s follow-up on the budget of independent public units, especially those incurring heavy losses.

NEPCO’s losses amounted to $234 million at the end of June 2015, whereas by June 2014, NEPCO’s losses totalled $588 million, according to the Energy and Minerals Regulatory Commission (EMRC). 

EMRC President Farouq Hiyari said the company’s losses dropped in the first half of this year in light of the decline in oil prices at the international level and because Jordan received several shipments of liquefied gas. 

The company has also started using an optimal operating system, which is more cost efficient.

NEPCO Director General Abdul Fattah Nsour added that the company has purchased liquefied gas from several suppliers to diversify its fuel resources and reduce costs. 

Qorneh acknowledged that the government and the company’s efforts in importing liquefied gas in accordance with the price estimated at the beginning of the year is in line with the committee’s decision to cut the increase in electricity tariffs by 50 per cent. 

Accordingly and in light of the drop in oil prices at the international level, the committee will not accept increases in electricity tariffs next year, Qorneh said. 

Also on Wednesday, the Lower House Legal Committee discussed the draft integrity and anti-corruption law which seeks to entrench the principles of justice and accountability. 

The meeting, chaired by MP Mustafa Amawi, was attended by Minister of State for Prime Ministry Affairs Ahmad Ziadat, Justice Minister Bassam Talhouni, Legislation and Opinion Bureau President Nofan Ajarmeh and Anti-Corruption Commission President Abed Kharabsheh.