Amman – With every heat wave affecting Jordan, households face a difficult trade-off between using fans and air conditioners to cope with soaring temperatures and worrying about higher electricity consumption that often results in bills well above their usual levels.
During the peak of each summer, including the current hot spell, complaints about rising electricity bills become increasingly common. Authorities have repeatedly attributed the increase to higher electricity consumption, which pushes households into higher tariff brackets and leads to significantly larger monthly bills.
Karam Saleh, a father of a family, said electricity bills in summer rise just like the temperatures. He explained that his family tries to reduce electricity use as much as possible to avoid excessive costs.
He added that they rely on electric fans for as long as possible before turning on air conditioners in an effort to reduce monthly electricity expenses.
Another resident, Abdullah Mustafa, said air conditioning has become indispensable during the daytime, especially from noon until after 6:00 p.m., when temperatures reach their peak.
Meanwhile, Manal Mohammad said she mainly uses air conditioning in the living room and occasionally in the bedrooms during particularly hot nights. She also charges her electric vehicle at public charging stations to avoid increasing household electricity consumption and moving into a higher billing tier due to air conditioner usage.
The increased demand is reflected in electricity sector data. The national electricity load reached 3,780 megawatts earlier this week, while peak demand rose by 17% during last summer to around 4,800 megawatts, compared with 4,100 megawatts in 2024.
Economic expert Dr. Hossam Ayesh said rising temperatures are no longer merely a climatic phenomenon but have become an additional financial burden on households as climate change drives higher energy consumption.
He explained that climate change is increasingly contributing to the rising cost of living by directly affecting household energy bills. Jordan’s traditionally dry climate once made high temperatures more tolerable, but increasing humidity during certain periods, combined with more intense heat waves, has led more families to rely on air conditioning, adding a substantial new expense to household budgets.
Ayesh also noted that the growing dependence on air conditioning, cooling, and heating systems is driven not only by hotter summers but also by colder winters and shifting seasonal patterns, with summer extending further into the year. As a result, households spend more time using cooling systems, increasing electricity consumption.
He added that these climate-related costs coincide with growing electricity demand from digital data centers, internet services, electric vehicles, and other modern technologies, placing additional pressure on the country’s energy system.
According to Ayesh, these developments are widening the gap between household income and expenditure, especially as purchasing power weakens. He argued that climate-related costs should be considered when determining wages and salaries to help families maintain a better balance between income and rising living expenses.
He also pointed out that the situation is compounded by higher global energy and natural gas prices, rising electricity generation costs, and tariff structures that make electricity more expensive during peak periods. Extended heat waves force households to operate air conditioners for much longer hours—often throughout the day—increasing electricity usage by at least 50% compared with normal weather conditions.
Official figures support this trend. According to the latest data from Jordan’s Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, residential and government buildings accounted for the largest share of electricity consumption over the past five years.
Between 2020 and 2024, the sector consumed approximately 49.3 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity out of a national total of 103.4 TWh, representing 47.6% of overall electricity consumption.
On an annual basis, electricity consumption by residential and government buildings rose to approximately 11.01 TWh in 2025, accounting for 47.2% of total national consumption of 23.3 TWh. This compares with 10.03 TWh in the previous year, when the sector represented 46.2% of total electricity use, marking an annual increase of 9.7%.
Jordan currently has around 2.5 million electricity subscriptions, all of which have been converted to smart meters across various sectors, including households.
Since April 1, 2022, the Energy and Minerals Regulatory Commission (EMRC) has implemented a new electricity tariff structure under which households eligible for the subsidized tariff pay no additional charges if monthly consumption remains below 600 kilowatt-hours (kWh).
The subsidized tariff consists of three consumption tiers:
* 1–300 kWh: 50 fils per kWh
* 301–600 kWh: 100 fils per kWh
* Above 600 kWh: 200 fils per kWh
Source: Al Ghad
