73 Public Utilities 6.1.1 BILLING AND PAYMENT: CONVENTIONAL ELECTRICITY There were different modes of payment for electricity. Some of the MEs went to the Electricity Board office to pay the bill themselves and complained about the long queues and not being aware of who to approach at the office. Thida (Book cover maker, Bago) went to the electricity office a few times and had difficulty paying the bill as she did not know who to approach. Olivia, a hair dresser in Yangon said “I don’t want to waste time in going to office to pay the bill. It takes about an hour as I have to wait for a long time. Moreover, I will be paying the same amount as would be spending on transportation.” Some MEs paid the electricity bill through a common bill collector in the neighbourhood who charged MMK 200 ($0.2) service fee. Some of the respondents in Bago paid the bill to the car that was sent from the electricity office from the 11th -23rd of every month at a service fee of MMK 200 ($0.2). One ME Htwe (Souvenir maker, Nay Pyi Taw) mentioned that people take turns to collect bills in his locality. The cost of electricity for commercial use was 75 kyats/unit ($0.075) while that of domestic was 35 kyats/unit ($0.035). Olivia (Hair dresser, Yangon) mentioned that the price of commercial electricity had increased from MMK 35 ($0.035) to MMK 75 ($0.75) and felt it could be because of privatization of electricity. “I read in a journal about electricity getting privatized, it could be a reason of price hike but I’m not very sure.” The MEs paid according to the slab system as told by the leader of 100 households in Nay Pyi Taw. For every 100 units consumed, the electricity price was 35 kyats ($0.035) per unit. Till 200 units it was 40 kyats ($0.04) per unit. Beyond 200 units it was 50 kyats ($0.05) per unit. They also mentioned that the maintenance charge of the digital meter was MMK 500 ($0.5) while that of the analog meter was MMK 1000 ($1) and were happy with that. MEs mentioned that the bill came before the 10th of every month and had to be paid by the 23rd of every month failing which there was a fine of MMK 1000-2000 ($1-$2) per day. After the 7th day the electricity board department disconnected the service. Previously, the deadline was the17th but later they extended it to 23rd. Every month an official came from the electricity office to note the reading. Electricity bill Htay’s house