Guesthouses haven't paid half a billion rufiya in electricity bills: STELCO

A total of over MVR 500,000,000 in electricity bills have not been paid by various different guest houses , revealed Managing Director of State Electric Company (STELCO)'s Managing Director Hussain Fahumy yesterday.

"Some guesthouses have not paid in years," he told local media outlet 'Mihaaru' yesterday, detailing that this amount did not accumulate over one or two days.

When asked what STELCO is doing to recover the payments, Fahumy said that the company is now introducing payment schemes.

"Us going and just cutting off the electricity is a loss for the country. We can discontinue the service. When the guest houses close, the tourists will fly out. That island wouldn't receive GST. Other sources of income for the country would also stop. That is a bad name our country gets," he explained.

Instead, they are encouraging small businesses, and discussing to divide the pending amounts to be paid over a year along with the bill generated every month.

"Even if we cut off the electricity would that person [the guesthouse owner] be able to pay the bills? We want to bring those people to the table and discuss whether there's a way to make the payments," Fahumy said.

Fahumy also answered why service is not interrupted for businesses despite non payment when residential houses have their electricity cut off after three bills are not paid.

Weakening businesses is not the right way, he said.

"We cut electricity from those places for half an hour or one hour. To let them know. The impact would be very big when electricity is entirely cut off when the bills are not paid. Those places would go bankrupt when we cut the power. That is for sure," he added.

Considerations are made even in residential homes, he said. As such, living conditions are reviewed and if we're sure they are unable to pay the bill or if the houses have pregnant women, elderly people, children and the sickly, then the company would not disrupt the power service, Fahumy assured.