In view of the soaring circular debt, the government has decided to increase the per-unit electricity tariff by Rs. 1.39 to be applicable from 1 November.
This was announced on Friday by Federal Minister for Energy Hammad Azhar while addressing a press conference in Islamabad. Azhar was flanked by State Minister for Information and Broadcasting Farrukh Habib.
Hammad Azhar said the new tariff would not apply to domestic consumers using 200 units. “This increase in power tariff will not be applicable to the lifeline and domestic consumers, who use less than 200 units of electricity. Hence, this increase is not applicable on the 46 percent of the consumer base,” he revealed.
Explaining the power tariff hike, he said the circular debt was due to capacity payments of power plants. He said the revolving loans were expected to reach Rs. 3,000 billion from Rs. 2,500 billion by 2030, informing the media that 6000.10000 megawatts of electricity would be added to the system. “But, we will have to bear the brunt of the expensive electricity,” said Azhar, adding that the burden of the country’s revolving debts was being borne by people.
The Energy Minister remarked that power plants across the country would no longer run on imported coal. He explained that the government had shut down the old power generation companies (GENCOs), while the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) had also revised its targets for the future.
