Residents and business operators near the Lao capital posted images of their outrageously high electricity bills on social media after an apparent miscalculation by the state-owned power company.
Some business owners in Vientiane province’s Thoulakhom district received monthly bills as high as US$4,000 from the state-run Electricite du Laos, or EDL. That’s 10 times the usual US$400, one small business owner told Radio Free Asia.
“I do not know what happened as I have never seen anything like this,” a Thoulakhom district resident told RFA last week. “There were never any issues with my electricity bills in the past months or years.”
EDL’s district office quickly issued a follow-up notice on Aug. 14, saying that bills for July had been miscalculated, and a corrected invoice would be sent soon.
But the shock of the exorbitant bills comes as Laotians continue to contend with high inflation that has sent the prices of fuel and other commodities higher as the value of the Lao currency, the kip, has steadily declined.
Additionally, the Lao government has seen power generation as a way to boost the country's faltering economy. Dozens of dams have been built in recent years with the aim of selling 20,000 megawatts of electricity to neighboring countries by 2030 and becoming the "battery of Southeast Asia."
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Rising power prices have been a sensitive issue for years, and Laotians have expressed concerns that many people won't benefit from the billion-dollar hydropower projects.
The follow-up notice from EDL was sent within 24 hours, but several people had already posted images of their miscalculated bills on Facebook, according to the small business owner.
“We know that electricity costs have increased, but we didn’t expect them to be this high,” she said.
Similar mistake in 2021
EDL is a state-owned corporation that operates the country’s power generation, transmission and distribution system.
An official at EDL’s district office confirmed that the large bills were mistakenly sent out to customers. Only residents and business owners in Thoulakhom district were affected by the miscalculation, she said.
“The relevant offices are working to get this problem solved soon,” she said.
A similar mistake affected customers in Vientiane province's Naxaithong district in June 2021, when some people received electricity bills that were two or three times higher than usual.
EDL officials held a news conference to acknowledge the mistake and made a rare public apology.
Translated by Phouvong. Edited by Matt Reed.