The Ministry of Petroleum has released the new natural gas price schedule for households and commercial use that will be effective as of 01 December, 2016. The release broke down prices based on consumption patterns in to the following three tranches: i) 0 to 40 cubic metres of consumption will pay EGP0.75 per cubic metre; ii) More than 40 cubic metres to 75 cubic metres of consumption will pay EGP1.50 per cubic metre; and iii) Greater than 75 cubic metres of consumption will pay EGP2 per cubic metre. It is worth noting that the original natural gas prices were as follows: i) 0 to 25 cubic metres of consumption for EGP0.40 per cubic metre; ii) More than 25 cubic metres to 50 cubic metres of consumption for EGP1 per cubic metre; and iii) Greater than 50 cubic metres of consumption for EGP1.50 per cubic metre.   Overall, we believe the implementation of the new gas price schedule offers negligible upside to EK Holding’s utilities operations at Natenergy. But, we think that the decision shows the government’s willingness to deregulate the downstream energy sector, which should bode well for the company in the long run. (Official gazette, Ahmed Hazem Maher)   Egyptian Kuwaiti: USD0.42 as of 03 November 2016, Rating: Buy, FV: USD0.80 per share, MCap: USD430mn, EKHO EY / EKHO.CA