Assistant Undersecretary of the Ministry of Electricity and Water for Planning and Training Dr. Mashaan Al-Otaibi said the new electricity and water rates will encourage consumers to rationalize consumption.

The new rates, that came into force in the investment sector on Tuesday, are five fils (nearly USD 0.016) per kWh and two dinars (USD 6.63) per 1,000 imperial gallons of water, he said at a press conference this evening.

"The new tariffs took force in the commercial sector in May and the tariffs of the government sector will rise from two fils to 25 fils (some USD 0.082) per kWh and from KD 0.8 to KD 4 (USD 13.27) per 1,000 gallons as of November 22, 2017," Dr. Al-Otaibi noted.

"The ministry started implementing the new program for increasing the tariffs of water and electricity today after finalizing all accounts of the investment sector and making sure that there are no consumers in debt.

"The Ministry consumes 350,000 barrels of oil a day to generate power and this figure could hit two million bpd in 2035 if extravagant consumption continued," he added. He commended the Amiri vision for replacing 15 percent of Kuwait's total power consumption by renewable energy by 2030.