Cairo: Egypt on Tuesday raised prices of electricity use by about 15 per cent on average, Minister of Electricity Mohammad Chaker said.
The hike is the latest in a series of austerity measures taken by the Egyptian government to reform economy and trim a budget deficit.
Electricity prices, announced by Chaker at a press conference in Cairo, showed increases ranging from 3.7 per cent to 38.8 per cent per kilowatt depending on the amount of electricity consumption.
The new prices will take effect as of July, the start of the new fiscal year in Egypt.
State subsidy on electricity will be completely lifted by the end of the 2021/2022 fiscal year, according to the minister.
In November 2016, Egypt floated its local pound and slashed fuel subsidy as part of economic reforms, which the government said were unavoidable and overdue.
The measures secured Egypt a badly needed loan of 12 billion dollars from the IMF, but unleashed rises in prices of different goods and services in the country.
In March this year, President Abdul Fattah Al Sissi announced increases in salaries of state workers.
