Federal Minister for Power and Natural Resources Omar Ayub has on Thursday announced that there will be an increase of Rs1.95 per unit in the cost of electricity.
Omar Ayub, while holding a press conference, said that owing to the policies of the previous government, this increase should realistically have been to the tune of Rs9 per unit.
The minister said that the new rates will be implemented after the official notification is issued by the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA).
The minister further added that the policies of the previous government were such that the industrial sector was compelled to pay whether they used electricity or not.
He held the press conference along with the Federal Minister for Planning, Development, and Special Initiatives Asad Umar and the Special Assistant on Power Tabish Gohar.
“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 any more,” Ayub said.
“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.”
He said that due to the agreements inked by the PML-N government with the power sector, which were based on “bad intentions and corrupt practices”, the increase in electricity tariff was Rs2.18 but the present government had decided to increase the rates by Rs 1.95 in per unit.
He added that due to the initiatives of the present government Rs1 to Rs2 per unit would be reduced in prices of electricity in upcoming years, adding that government had made agreements with power sectors as per law and regulations.
