To get out of this vicious circle, many Yemenis resort to manipulating electricity meters to refrain from paying high bills.

Ahmed, a taxi driver and breadwinner of his family, can hardly make ends meet. But he told Arab News that he has four big air-conditioners in his house and uses them around the clock, but yet he is not worried about the bills.

“I have them on day and night because I have a big family. The bills are not high; it could reach 4,000 Yemeni riyals ($10).”

Ahmed, like many inhabitants in hot areas, said he inserts a nail in the meter, which slows it down.

In Yemen, the meters are wrapped and sealed in boxes, but Ahmed says he knows where to insert the nail.

“I know in advance the amount of money that I will be charged by the end of month. Everyone in this country is stealing from the state, why should I be an exception?” he asked.

Ahmed removes the nail whenever he learns about an impending inspection from his friend at the electricity office.

However, not all people follow Ahmed's lead. For many, paying inflated electricity bills is a bitter pill to swallow.

“Last month, I paid 40,000 Yemeni riyals ($190), almost a third of my salary, for the electricity bill,” a university professor told Arab News angrily.

People who fiddle with the electricity meters to reduce their bills are a real nuisance for the Public Electricity Corporation (PEC).

The manager of the PEC office in Mukalla, Abdul Kader Basala'a, told Arab News that they have discovered many cases where the meter has been tampered with.

“They use many tricks like connecting appliances directly to the electricity cables, turning the meters upside down and inserting metals that slow them down.”

Basala'a added that PEC inspectors are playing an elaborate game of cat and mouse to trap the tamperers.

“This is a deliberate abuse of public property. If any person is caught red-handed, he is fined 150,000 Yemeni riyals and if caught again, he is referred to the police.”

He acknowledged that poorer residents always bear the brunt of high electricity tariffs. “We don't have the authority to reduce bills, we can only allow subscribers to pay the bill through credit.”

Local journalist Salah Mubarak thinks that the excuses of those who tamper with the meters are unjustifiable. “We hear many cases of people fiddling with meters and the PEC must handle this issue by reducing tariffs for those living in hot areas. People won't use tricks if their bills are lower.”

Salah said some citizens do not have meters at all and have their own way of obtaining free electricity.

“The real problem comes from those who consume electricity and don't even pay a single riyal. The PEC is aware of those people and can stop them, but it doesn't,” he said.

“Not all people resort to this trick and the government should take into account the people's standard of living when they set the electricity charges. At the same time, the government should launch an awareness campaign and enlighten them about the importance of reducing consumption.”

In July, the PEC added a 50 percent additional charge to household electricity bills.

In hot governorates where consumption is high, residents were taken aback to find that their electricity bills had doubled, despite unresolved power cuts in the last couple of months. The power cuts caused huge resentment in the south of the country.

“Like many low-income people, I bore the brunt of increased tariffs and I'm doing my best to come to terms with the new situation, sometimes at the expense of other basic amenities,” Salah said.