Protestors Block National Road Over Energy Prices
About 300 people on Saturday blocked off a stretch of National Road 5 in Banteay Meanchey province protesting what they call is an unfair increase in electricity prices. … Protesters believe that the private electricity supplier, Sok Vitith, altered the Commune’s electricity converter without telling the consumers so that it now produces 160 kilovolt-amps (KVA) instead of the usual 100 KVA. “I reject the claim I did it for my own benefit. I had to do it because there was not enough electricity to supply the commune, so in April, I changed the electricity cabinet from 100 KVA to 160 KVA,” he [Sok Vitith] said. Blaming the villager’s soaring usage on the increased use of appliances during recent hot weather, Mr. Vitith said that he had accepted villagers complaints and had yesterday reinstalled the 100 KVA converter. …
