Egypt’s Consumer Protection Agency is investigating complaints from households hit with surprise electricity charges of as much as 500 pounds ($9) on prepaid code meters, after the Ministry of Electricity said the arrears stem from billing changes introduced in April, a person at the agency’s complaints unit told Al Manassa.
Consumers say the debts, listed as “arrears” on top-up receipts, have sown confusion and risk undermining government efforts to regularize illegal connections through code meters. The ministry attributed the charges to price differences, service fees, and data-update delays, with most cases ranging between 200 and 300 pounds.
The arrears stemmed from “price differences, customer service fees, and financial settlements” tied to delayed subscriber data updates or gaps between actual consumption and top-up amounts, with charges ranging from 200 to 300 pounds, about $4 to $6, a Ministry of Electricity source familiar with code meters told Al Manassa.
Last month, the Ministry of Electricity began applying a new billing system for code-based meters at a unified rate of 2.74 pounds per kilowatt-hour, replacing the tiered tariff system with an increase of up to 28%. The change affects about 3.6 million code-based meters and has prompted parliamentary calls to temporarily suspend the decision and review it from legal, social, and economic perspectives.
According to the Unified Platform for Electricity Services, code meters are temporary units installed for those obtaining electricity illegally. They are designed to ensure accurate billing of actual consumption until a building’s legal status is regularized under the Building Violation Reconciliation Law, or demolition orders issued against it are carried out.
The source at the Consumer Protection Agency, who asked not to be named, said the meters automatically began calculating consumption at the new rate as of early April. As usage continued and balances ran out faster, debts were recorded and appeared to citizens at the first subsequent top-up, requiring them to pay the amount in a single installment.
The agency source added that this caused confusion among consumers, especially in the absence of a ministry-led information campaign before the new system was applied. This could backfire and weaken citizens’ willingness to regularize their status, the source warned.
The complaints come amid broader government measures following fluctuations in regional energy supplies, driven by the US-Israeli war on Iran last February. The measures included fuel price increases, followed by higher electricity tariffs for homes and businesses. The government also raised the price of gas supplied to fertilizer factories by about 21% and ordered the early closure of shops to rationalize electricity consumption.
The Ministry of Electricity source said the debts vary by case and may also include older charges tied to the housing unit, including installments or unsettled consumption from before the current user installed the meter.
The source said the ministry has instructed electricity distribution companies to review complaints about code meters and examine the debts in detail, as complaints have increased through the Unified Platform for Electricity Services and citizen service centers.
He added that the ministry is considering a unified response to the crisis, including a meter-by-meter review of top-up and consumption data to ease problems caused by the new 2.74-pound per kilowatt-hour flat rate.
The source confirmed that the ministry has expanded the installation of code and prepaid meters in recent years as part of a plan to reduce commercial losses and regularize the status of violating units and unregistered properties, noting that the number of installed code meters has now exceeded 3.6 million.
The original law to reconcile building violations and regularize their status was issued in 2019, following nearly four years of drafting legislation that impacts a vast cross-section of property owners. While the law was amended in 2020, administrative hurdles and inconsistent enforcement by local authorities remained significant barriers. MPs have called in recent years for amendments to remove the administrative complexities preventing reconciliation.
The government has continued extending the deadline for submitting reconciliation requests since 2019, most recently this month, when the Official Gazette published Prime Ministerial Decree No. 1098 of 2026 extending the reconciliation period by another six months to November.
