Morocco's fuel bill this year will increase by 25 billion dirhams ($2.56 billion) compared to 2021, the top electricity official told parliament on Wednesday, according to official news agency MAP.

"The 2022 fuel bill will reach 47.7 billion dirhams," Abdul Rahim Al-Hafizi, the director of the national office for electricity, said in a speech.

That compares with an average of 21 billion dirhams ($2.16 billion) during the last four years, he added.

Fuel will make up a large share of the cost of producing electricity, reaching 64% in 2022, up from 44% in 2021, Al-Hafizi added.

($1=9.7440 Moroccan dirham)

(Reporting By Moaz Abd-Alaziz and Ahmed Tolba; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)