Bahrain's government said on Monday it would pay 50% of salaries for private company workers in sectors that were hard-hit by the coronavirus pandemic, state news agency BNA reported.

The Electricity and Water Authority (EWA) denied presence of any defect in the smart meters, adding that they are accurate and selected according to high international standards.

MP Ahmed Al-Ansari said that faulty electricity meters are to be blamed for a spate of billing errors in Bahrain this year. The Electricity and Water Authority (EWA) had confirmed the problems were caused by newly installed smart meters.

Head of Constructions and Electricity Distributions Directorate in the Electricity and Water Authority, Khalil Ibrahim Khalil, said that the authority is preparing a plan to install 300,000 smart meters to replace the old.

Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa said that 7 entities were referred to the Public Prosecution over violations mentioned in the National Audit Office (NAO) report for 2019.

A representative of the Electricity and Water Authority said during a municipal meeting that smart meters are innocent of the charge of high prices, and that the rise in some invoices is due to a mistake in some estimates and billing calculations.

MP Zeinab Abdulamir discussed with Minister of Electricity and Water Abdulhussein Mirza the issue of citizens who signed contracts for their employment in the Electricity and Water Authority but didn't have their procedures completed.

Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa called on the Electricity and Water Authority (EWA) to calculate the water and electricity invoices for the upcoming months of September, October and November based on last year's invoices for the same period.

Akhbar Al-Khaleej newspaper said that the websites of a number of ministries and government agencies have not been updated for many years, and the last data shown on their websites was between 2014 and 2017.

The Electricity and Water Authority (EWA) said that it readjusted the June, July, and August electricity and water bills for citizens based on last year's issued amount. The readjustment followed directives issued by Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa.

The National Audit Office started establishing a working group to implement the order of Crown Prince, Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, which directed to investigate the electricity and water bills of all citizens.

Minister of Electricity and Water Abdulhussein Mirza said that the ministry will compare the bills of citizens' first domicile for this summer (June, July and August) with the same bills of last year.

Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa directed the NAO to investigate the electricity and water bills of Bahraini citizens at their primary residence (single account), as well as individuals and establishments, in order to ensure that there are no technical and procedural deficiencies in the water and electricity billing mechanisms.

The Bahrain Petroleum Company (Bapco) and the Electricity and Water Authority have started to abandon a large part of their operations for private companies, including the supply of manpower to carry out specific tasks such as maintenance and operation, under the supervision of engineers in the two institutions.

Responding to the statements of MP Ahmed Al-Salloum, the Electricity and Water Minister Abdulhussein Mirza denied the government intention to lift subsidies on electricity services for citizens provided for the first house.

Member of the Finance and Economic Committee, MP Ahmed Al-Salloum, said that the electricity and water authority works on plan to zero out the amount of governmental support provided to citizens' bills by 2030, according to the Minister of Electricity and Water Abdulhasan Mirza during the last meeting that gathered the joint committee of Shura Council and House of Representatives with the government.

Contradictory news is being released by the Ministry of Electricity in Bahrain, which cuts off electricity in poverty-stricken areas, depriving those citizens, who cannot provide their basic needs, of electricity while turning a blind eye to the collection of arrears of hotels, ministries and wealthy members of the ruling family.

The High Administrative Court rejected a lawsuit filed by lawyer Mohammad Al-Thawadi, demanding abolishing decision to apply VAT on services of the Electricity and Water Authority.

Minister of Electricity and Water Affairs Abdulhussain Mirza said that electric vehicles will arrive to Bahrain and Gulf stats by 2022.

Numbers published by Electricity and Water Authority showed that government subsidies on electricity dropped 62 million BD after approving the new tariff for electricity last year.