The Fenaka Corporation has said that as diesel expenditure increases at every island by 25 percent during the Iruvai Monsoon (Northeast Monsoon) each year, it means that there are no issues with billing.
The company's Chief Technical Officer Abdulla Nashith told PSM News on "Raajje Miadhu" that the amount of fuel that needs to be used annually in March and April always increases.
"It is clear that this is a general increase in the usage of electricity, and that this, in truth, is not a billing issue," said Nashith.
According to him, recent years have also shown an increase in electricity usage from February until the end of April.
While using the increase of electricity relative to hotter days as an example, Nashith highlighted the difference in how tired a person would be if they were to climb up the stairs of a 15-floor building compared to a 5-floor building.
"Even if there is no additional increase in floors, the energy that is spent on climbing 15 floors would be higher than the energy spent on climbing 5 floors. Similarly, even if a household does not have an additional device, the device needs to expend more energy to bring the temperature down," said Nashith.
Fenaka's Chief Development Officer Mohamed Shujau stated that when the government arranged to give an MVR 400 discount to the electricity bill during Ramadan, they realized electricity usage had gone up.
He also stated that the discount was prepared from the first day of Ramadan (18th February) until 20th March.
"Eid is included within this cycle, along with days during Shawwal which are the six days of fasting. And so, the trend has continued just as how usage was during Ramadan. That is what the data from our history has shown," said Shujau.
He went on to say that the bills have been drawn up relative to usage and that Fenaka has not made any additional changes.
"We have noted that this is because of the changes brought about by the Iruvai Monsoon," said Shujau.
Regarding some of the reasons why electricity bills have been high, Shujau said that if the electricity cables are subject to higher temperatures, electricity expenditures would also increase. He stated that this happens when there is an obstruction in the electricity's path.
As per Nashith, there are no issues with the meters used by Fenaka. The meters are sold to the public after Fenaka tests them upon importing them to Maldives, said Nashith.
As many have complained regarding the unusual increase in the charges for electricity bills for March, Fenaka said last night that they will check any bills deemed to be suspicious.
