On Tuesday, Shehbaz Sharif, the prime minister, declared a three-month grace period for lifeline electricity users whose monthly use does not exceed 200 units.
“The government will give a discount of Rs50 billion to the electricity lifeline consumers in July, August, and September,” stated a post on the X account of state broadcaster PTV News. The government’s relief will affect 25 million people nationwide for three months.
Additionally, it stated that “94% of the country’s domestic consumers” of power will benefit from the decision.
Speaking at a news conference in Islamabad, Prime Minister Shehbaz announced that the package will offer relief to about 25 million domestic consumers who come under the protected category, up to Rs7 per unit, for a three-month period ending in September.
“Today, Rs 50 billion has been set aside to give our protected category customers who use up to 200 units per month for three months, from July to September, a relief of Rs 4 to 7 per unit as a concession.
The prime minister stated, “This will benefit about 25 million domestic power consumers, which constitute about 94 percent of the total consumer base.”
In contrast to the “hollow claims” of past administrations, he said, the federal government has eliminated the aforementioned sum from its development budget in order to fulfill its commitment to providing public relief.
Shehbaz further promised the populace that more relief will come as a result of the government’s continuous efforts to close non-performing enterprises, tax the wealthy, broaden the tax base, and plug financial leaks.
He informed the assembly of senior government officials and federal ministers that the coalition administration’s prior 16-month term prevented the nation from going into default by putting politics on the line.
According to PM Shehbaz, the government has accepted the relief given for domestic electricity consumers and is planning to sign a three-year agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
He claimed that because consumers were not paying their power bills, the federal and Balochistani governments had come to an agreement a day earlier to solarize over 28,000 tube wells in the province, saving an estimated Rs80–90 billion annually.
“A business model is being prepared in this regard,” he informed the participants, adding that “the same model will be launched in other provinces as approximately a million tube wells are being run on imported oil having a financial implication of $3.5bn on foreign exchange.”
According to PM Shehbaz, the yearly budget includes additional taxes on the real estate industry that are expected to produce approximately Rs100 billion. The salaried class has every right to object to this tax burden.
“It’s time for the rich class to give back to the nation,” he said.
These are the problems and parasites consuming the nation. We must do away with debts and beggarly if we are to see the nation thrive. He went on, “The only way is to put in the work and make the elite class pay back to the country. We also need to take advantage of the enormous potential in the mining, information technology, agriculture, and mineral sectors.”
The administration opted to reverse the roughly 51 percent hike in electricity rates it had approved last week for so-called protected consumers due to public uproar and the possibility of political fallout by complying with an International Monetary Fund (IMF) “prior action” requirement.
A updated summary was scheduled to be quickly reviewed by the federal cabinet, which just approved the significant tariff increase last week, even for “protected consumers,” per the prime minister’s instructions.
Sources claim that PM Shehbaz was informed by various entities, aside from the electricity division, that customers were already extremely irate due to piling bills resulting from public holidays during Eidul Azha, as well as increased usage during hot and muggy weather. In certain places, they had previously used violence against distribution company executives to vent their rage.
The prime minister gave orders on Monday morning to amend the rate increase summary that was previously submitted to Nepra and exempt protected users from the hike before taking off from Islamabad for Quetta. The power division distributed the report as directed by the evening. With the help of creative rate design and subsidies, the government will close the resulting revenue shortfall of roughly Rs50 billion.
As part of the IMF’s “prior action and structural benchmark,” the tariff hike must take effect for all ex-Wapda distribution businesses (Discos) and K-Electric on July 1, 2024.
The tariff was supposed to be raised by 51 percent for “protected consumers” using up to 100 units per month and by 41 percent for protected consumers using up to 200 units per month, according to the tariff adjustment summary that the federal cabinet approved through circulation. This group includes more than 15.5 million customers, of which 10.11 million reside in fewer than 100 units and 5.5 million in 101–200 units. These consumers are below this barrier and are free to use the roadways at any time.
However, individuals unlucky enough to over 200 units even once every six months are classified as “unprotected category.”
