Sonelgaz CEO Rules Out Price Hikes Of Electricity and Gas This Year

Sonelgaz Group CEO, Mustapha Guitouni, has ruled out the possibility of a rise in gas and electricity in the course of the year 2016.

“A rise in the prices of energy products (including gas, electricity, and fuel) is completely excluded for the year 2016,” said Mr Guitouni a statement to the press in Algiers.

“The law authorizes Naftal and Sonelgaz to raise the prices of their products once a year,” explained Mr Guitouni in an allusion to the price hike that took place earlier this year in energy products.

He underlined that these two companies (Naftal and Sonelgaz) are commercial, and that all decisions from them to raise prices “are studied with discernment”.

“The increase of prices obeys strict commercial rules,” he said, adding that “the decision on the matter is devolved upon the top management of both companies”.

The Sonelgaz Group invested more than 588 billion dinars in 2015, added CEO Mustapha Guitouni, by citing the difficulties of finding the necessary funding to carry out its investment program in the current woeful financial juncture.

“The year 2015 was characterized by several significant achievements, requiring investments of over 588 billion dinars, despite the difficulties we encountered in mobilizing fresh funding, which disrupted somewhat our program,” Mr Guitouni affirmed.

These capital expenditures are close to those of the year 2014 (600 billion dinars) which saw, according to the Sonelgaz CEO, an evolution of 46% compared to 2013.

He further stressed in this regard, that Sonelgaz Group has taken strict measures in order to collect the debts incurred by many of its customers from different departments and institutions that reach more than 60 billion dinars (6,000 billion centimes) at the national level, with notably more than 10 billion dinars still to be retrieved at the level of Algiers province alone.

This untoward failure by numerous customers to pay their bills has inflicted on the Sonelgaz Group scathing financial losses, thus greatly hindering the achievement by the Group of outstanding investments and major projects, Mr Guitouni underscored.