We reported recently about a new charge which had been added to the electricity bills of TRNC citizens. This was an unannounced item for street lighting. The charge varies between TL 15 and TL 18 per month and is charged per meter.
However the local belediye (councils) are also charging for street lighting in their bills.
This has resulted in many citizens paying for street lighting several times over. For example, apartment dwellers would pay for their own meter to KIB-TEK, pay a shared charge for the communal lighting meter (hall, stairs etc.), pay the belediye for street lighting also and if they owned a business pay through that meter as well.
Understandably, as people receive their bills, many have complained about this anomaly on local forums, to newspapers and their councils.
Questioned about this issue on Friday (15th February) during a television interview, Prime Minister Irsen Kucuk said that citizens should only pay the KIB-TEK street lighting charge.
Unfortunately he did not explain how this could legally be done.
