The government has given another shock to the tax-burdened public. Approved to increase the price per unit of electricity up to 7.12 rupees from July.
Aaj News said with reference to the Tribune report that the government will be able to collect an additional amount of at least 580 billion rupees in the financial year. This rate is higher than the current cost of electricity, which consumers will pay, mainly because of the mismanagement and wrong energy policies of the last three decades.
Out of these 32.5 million electricity consumers, 26 million households fall into the poor to lower middle income category. It should be noted that the government has already imposed monthly charges of Rs 200 to Rs 1000 per unit on residential electricity consumers. A top government official confirmed that the federal cabinet approved the hike in electricity prices through summary circulation. He said that the price hike notification will be issued soon.
According to Aaj News, unlike in the past when the summary first went to the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet, this time the Energy Ministry quietly forwarded the summary to the federal cabinet and sought its approval through circulation.
The government has increased electricity prices for residential consumers from Rs 3 95 paise to Rs 7 12 paise per unit. The percentage increase ranges from 14.3% to 51%. The maximum increase is for Pakistan’s poorest consumers using one to 100 units.
According to the Power Division, electricity prices have increased by an average of Rs 4.55 per unit and as a result the average uniform rate has increased from Rs 28.44 per unit to Rs 33 per unit, excluding taxes, quarterly and monthly adjustments. Now the minimum rate will be Rs 11.69 per unit and the maximum rate will be Rs 48.84 per unit
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s government has approved an increase in electricity prices from Rs 7 74 paise per unit to Rs 11 69 paise for protected consumers from one to 100 units, which is an increase of Rs 3 95 paise or 51 per cent. . It is the poorest section that has been affected the most.
