By Kantarawaddy Times
In Loikaw, Karenni State, residents are facing difficulties after the Electricity Power Corporation (EPC), operating under the military council, threatened to remove electric meters box from households that fail to pay their electricity bills.
Since the military seized power in 2021, EPC in Loikaw has continued collecting electricity payments despite not regularly inspecting meters or issuing official billing statements, according to local residents.
“It’s unfair that EPC is threatening people who have only recently returned from displacement,” one resident said. “They haven’t even come to read the meters, yet they’re demanding payments based on rough estimates. It’s extremely inconvenient.”
Although previous electricity bills were at times permitted to be paid in installments, this arrangement has led to ongoing tensions between EPC staff and local residents due to unresolved billing disputes.
“We don’t even know how many years of bills they’re charging us for. The amounts are huge—tens of thousands of kyats. On top of that, the way they talk to us is very arrogant,” said another local resident.
Currently, in urban areas of Loikaw permitted for resettlement by the military administration, EPC has resumed monthly collections of electricity fees, according to residents.
Furthermore, EPC has reportedly threatened to remove meters from homes where bills have not been paid or where the residents have not officially returned. In addition to electricity charges, residents say that local military-controlled departments have also begun collecting other unpaid dues such as water bills, land taxes, and other municipal fees.
Following the “1111” military operation in Loikaw, most residents fled to nearby townships. However, many have now begun returning to the city, leading to a renewed push by authorities to enforce utility payments.
