Govt announces to hike electricity prices by Rs1.95 per unit

ISLAMABAD (92 News) - Placing another burden on the already inflation stricken public, the federal government has decided to hike the electricity prices by Rs1.95 per unit on Thursday.

This was announced by Federal Minister for Power, Petroleum and Natural Resources Omar Ayub during a press conference in Islamabad along with the Federal Minister for Planning, Development, and Special Initiatives Asad Umar and the Special Assistant on Power Tabish Gohar.

"There will be an increase of Rs1.95 per unit in the cost of electricity, adding that owing to the policies of the previous government, this increase should realistically have been to the tune of Rs9 per unit," the minister maintained.

Omar Ayub also said that the new rates will be implemented after the official notification is issued by the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra).

"We raised the issue of the previous government's policies in the cabinet again and again and the PTI government decided that it would not burden the public with electricity bills anymore," Ayub said.

Ayub further said that PML-N set up "wrong factories" which used imported fuel. As a result, the ruling PTI had to bear the burden of capacity payments.

"We [the PTI government] have paid Rs473 billion in subsidies during the ongoing financial crisis," Omar Ayub said. "I commend Prime Minister Imran Khan [and his policies] through which the government was able to pay this hefty amount."

The minister also said that the government employed "vigorous efforts to pay off the circular debt."

MoU signed with 53 IPPs

On the occasion, Special Assistant on Power Tabish Gohar said that the government signed Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with 53 independent power producers (IPPs), adding that the move will relieve the government of Rs836 billion in the next 20 years.

"The amount of interest included in the power tariffs will be reduced," he said, adding that the supply of gas to all the industries related to power generation will be suspended.

"We hope that there will be a reduction of Rs3 to Rs4 in the power tariffs in the next few years, especially for the common man," Tabish Gohar said.

Country's economy is progressing

Speaking about PTI's economic policies, Federal Minister for Planning, Development, and Special Initiatives Asad Umar said that the government has been "consistently receiving good news regarding the economy for the last couple of months."

"Pakistan's economy is progressing and its exports are rapidly increasing because of the government's policies," he said.

Asad Umar added that Pakistan is seeing a surge in its exports and that exports in December 2020 were significantly more as compared to December 2019.

"Overall, major industries are progressing because of which their electricity consumption has increased by 8%," he said.