Kassioun Editorial 1263: Electric Darkness and Social Injustice

When Syrians see bills ranging in value from 300,000 to 4 million SYP, they are seeing bills that, in the worst cases, exceed their monthly incomes several times over, and in the best cases consume more than 35% of that income. Meanwhile, the average cost of electricity in many neighboring and non-neighboring countries ranges between 1% and 10% of the minimum monthly income—meaning that electricity prices in Syria are among the highest in the world as percentage of income. The catastrophe becomes even more severe when one realizes that the overwhelming majority of Syrians (more than 90%) already live below the food poverty line—that is, they can barely secure the minimum required food and drink for a dignified life, let alone healthcare, education, transportation, communications, and other basic needs.

The problem does not stop at the inability to pay electricity bills; it extends far beyond that:

First: The new electricity prices will be reflected in many goods, including food products (this has already begun—for example, milk prices have risen by 18.5%, and this will extend to all food products that require refrigeration).

Second: The increase will affect all food and non-food goods, the production of which uses use electricity. In short, since electricity is involved in the production of virtually everything, all commodity prices without exception will rise as a direct response to higher production and storage costs.

Third: Local production—already faltering, unable to compete in either foreign or domestic markets, and under pressure due to cheaper imported goods—will be completely halted. This means that whatever remains of production will come to an end, not to mention that the “reconstruction” process, which has not yet begun, will never begin under these conditions.

Fourth: The value of any currency is built on real production within the concerned country. When production is destroyed, the currency turns into worthless paper. This means that raising electricity prices will inevitably lead to accelerated inflation, and thus to further impoverishment that wage increases will not compensate for—especially since talk of wage increases remains mere “rumors”.

Fifth: Any talk of attracting foreign investment will become a complete illusion in the face of rising costs and the consequent lack of competitiveness domestically and internationally. The only investments that may come are of the electricity and telecommunications type—that is, investments aimed at extracting wealth from inside Syria to outside it, and into the pockets of certain beneficiaries—rather than producing new wealth.

Sixth: Within the electricity sector itself, technical and commercial losses are estimated at around 40–50%. Commercial losses (through non-payment or electricity theft, which will become active again) will increase further, leading to higher technical losses as well. This means further complicating the electricity problem in the country and increasing the cost of solving it later.

The above is an initial list of the expected repercussions, which are in fact more numerous, deeper, and longer-term. However, the conclusion that must be firmly established is that all countries in the world treat energy, water, and telecommunications as matters of national security, because tampering with them—especially through private companies—means tampering with the country’s security and its economic, social, and political stability. This means that there is an urgent national need today to completely reverse the new electricity pricing, and to search for solutions and resources elsewhere—not in the pockets of the 90% of Syrians who have lived, and continue to live, social injustice, along with electrical darkness.

(النسخة العربية)