Govt ‘withdraws’ decision of tariff hike for protected power consumers

ISLAMABAD: The federal government has announced the withdrawal of the decision to increase electricity rates by 51pc for power consumers using up to 200 units per month.

According to media reports, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has directed the federal cabinet to approve the circulation summary to withdraw the tariff increase for both protected and non-protected consumers using up to 200 units

The proposed relief came after a massive public outcry and potential political backlash against overbilling and the sudden high rise in inflation to meet International Monetary Fund (IMF) conditions. The federal government will allocate a subsidy of Rs50 billion to offset the tariff reduction.

Moreover, sources said that the National Electric Power Regula­tory Authority (Nepra) also revised the date of a public hearing from July 8 to July 10. The hearing was sought by the power division for an Rs5.72 per unit average increase — going up to Rs7.12 per unit for higher-end domestic and other consumer categories, but it has asked Nepra to wait for the revised summary.

The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) had sent the decision to the federal government to increase the basic tariff of electricity by an average of Rs5.72 a unit.

According to the government sources, the decision of the federal cabinet had to be sent to the Nepra for uniform tariff.

Following the Nepra’s approval, the federal government was supposed to issue a notification to increase the basic tariff of electricity by July 10, under the IMF conditions. However, the government decided against it for a specific period.