Egypt's Cabinet on Sunday ratified a decision to raise electricity prices for household consumers, Al-Ahram's Arabic-language news website has reported.

The new regulations will not affect the first category of consumer, whose monthly consumption currently stands at less than 50 kilowatts per second at a price of LE0.025 per kilowatt.

The first category includes almost seven million household consumers who constitute almost one quarter of the total number of subscribers – some 28 million – nationwide.

The latest decision comes within the context of a government initiative aimed at reducing overall electricity consumption.

Last month saw a draft law prepared that would enforce specific closing hours on restaurants and commercial venues across the country.