By Dr. Mohammad Raja Al-Saideyat (Head of Electrical Engineering Department - Al-Hussein Bin Talal University)
Jordan has recently witnessed a wave of public discontent regarding the rise in electricity bill amounts, and some interpretations circulated that attribute this to what is called "distribution of electrical loss" to the citizens, or the electricity companies' resorting to reducing the voltage and increasing the current to raise the bill amount. From a standpoint of scientific responsibility, it is necessary to refute these hypotheses and clarify the real reason for this increase.
First, regarding "electrical loss," it exists in all networks worldwide, and is divided into two types: technical loss in networks (which can be reduced by developing infrastructure), and non-technical loss resulting from tampering (which can be reduced by surveillance). The question is: Is this loss distributed randomly to the citizens? Economic and engineering logic denies that distribution companies bear this loss entirely because they are profit-making institutions, but it is also not fair for the compliant subscriber to bear it directly. Therefore, this loss is dealt with globally by adding it as a marginal part within the basic "kilowatt" pricing equation (minor fils), so that the price includes operational costs and losses, thus the consumer is not wronged, nor does the company lose, and the loss is not "distributed" retrospectively as rumored.
As for the second myth related to companies deliberately "reducing voltage and increasing current," it is a correct hypothesis theoretically but wrong in the essence of its application. The decrease in electrical voltage is a natural result of increased loads on the network and not manipulation by the company. The correct thing is that the power remains constant in modern devices (power = voltage × current), and therefore, a decrease in voltage leads to an increase in current to compensate for the deficit, but this increase in current does not increase "the consumed power" recorded, but scientifically leads to an increase in wire temperature (energy loss in the form of heat). The amount of this loss is very small and can often be ignored, but this does not exempt electricity companies from addressing these "hotspots" in residential areas through enhancing transformers and creating microgrids.
So, why does the bill insanely rise in winter? Here, it is important to distinguish between "Power" measured in watts, and "Energy" that we pay for measured in (kilowatt.hour). We pay for "operating time"; a 2000-watt vacuum cleaner consumes energy equivalent to (2 kilowatt.hours) per hour. In the winter, the operating hours of devices (heaters, fires) increase, thereby increasing the amount of "Energy" consumed inevitably.
However, the real problem that many do not realize is not just in the increase in consumption but in the "progressive tier system". Your consumption might slightly increase in winter (an extra hour or two), but your bill could double three or four times. The reason lies in jumping between tiers; in Jordan, the subsidized subscriber pays 50 fils per kilowatt in the first tier (first 300 k.w.h), then the price jumps to double (100 fils) in the second tier, and quadruples (200 fils) if consumption exceeds 600 k.w.h. Simply, any slight increase moves you from one tier to another, doubling your electricity price, which explains the huge gap between the increase in consumption and the increase in the required amount.
Conclusion and solution: The solution does not lie in blaming technology, but in pricing policies. It has become a national duty for the Ministry of Energy and the Energy and Minerals Regulatory Commission to reconsider the tariff structure and tiers. The limit (300 k.w.h) for the first tier is no longer sufficient for the simple Jordanian home, especially with the general trend of moving away from polluting and costly fossil fuels to electric heating. Therefore, expanding the limits of the tiers and adjusting their prices is the only way to achieve justice and protect the citizen from the "burning" winter bills.
