Public Utilities 69 To get an electricity connection, MEs were required to submit their national ID card, family registration card and in some cases even their land ownership document. Most of them got it in 3-4 months while one had to wait for a year and one respondent got it in just 20 days. Myo (Toy seller, Nay Pyi Taw) had to wait for a year before he got an electricity connection. He spoke about a bad experience with an official where he paid exorbitant extra charges without any results. “When I applied for the connection, I had to pay about MMK 50,000 ($50). But my house is about 400 meters far from the transformer. Transformer can only supply electricity within 300 meters of range. So, I was asked to pay more for the extension of the electricity line. At that time, the worker from electricity board told me that he could handle it unofficially and asked me to give him MMK 100,000 ($100). So I trusted and gave him that amount. But he bluffed me so I reported about this case to the manager. The next day, he returned my money because of my report. Then, I finally got the connection and paid MMK 500,000 ($500) in total to get electricity legally. I also bought a used meter from a person in the village for MMK 5000 ($5).” Chit (Cheroot maker, Bago) had applied for electricity connection one year back. She had to pay MMK 265,000 ($265) along with her national ID and family registration card to get the connection. MEs expressed discomfort with the shift from analog electric meters to digital ones. It was observed that in Nay Pyi Taw, most of the analog meters had been changed to digital meters while in Bago and Mandalay only some had been changed and no change in Mawlamyine and Yangon. Some MEs blamed the new meters and their positioning for bill inflation. They felt that the bills were being easily manipulated because they themselves could no longer climb the high electricity pole to verify. Only three MEs were using a commercial meter for their business. Kyaw (Keychain maker, Bago) had both a domestic and commercial meter at home, where he ran his business. He got the commercial meter one year back and the domestic one fifteen years back. He recieved a monthly bill of about MMK 6000-7000 ($6-$7) for the commercial connection and MMK 13,000-14,000 ($13-$14) for the domestic connection. Myint (signpost maker, Bago) had a commercial meter and receives a monthly bill of about MMK 4500 ($4.5). Sein (Wooden pipe maker, Bago) also has a commercial meter at home and got a monthly bill of about MMK 4000-6000 ($4-$6). Out of the five locations, commercial meters were only seen in Bago, the reason being their large consumption of electricity. Digital meter on electricity pole