31pc increase in power tariff okayed

The Finance Ministry has approved the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA)'s summary to increase the power tariffs by 31 per cent, officials said.

"NEPRA's summary has been approved by the Finance Ministry. The new tariffs will be effective soon", said an official of the Finance Ministry. He said the government had decided to withdraw the subsidy on electricity in phases. The subsidy given by the government for power production stands at Rs 175 billion at present.

The other day, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani allowed NEPRA to increase the power tariffs by 31 per cent instead of the proposed 50-60 per cent. The PM issued directives after consulting Finance Minister Syed Naveed Qamar and Minister for Water and Power Raja Pervez Ashraf.

Currently consumers are being charged Rs 3.08 per unit for first 100 units, Rs 4 per unit for the next 200 units and Rs 6.53 per unit above 300 units.

After the notification of the new tariffs and formula, a consumer who would consume more than 50 units of power would be charged a flat rate of Rs 6.53 per unit.

Electricity consumers using more than 100 units in a month would pay a 16 percent GST.

Raja Pervez Ashraf said that government had no choice but to take this action. He said that NEPRA had the authority to decide electricity prices because it was a regulatory authority. He said that this increase in prices would be applicable to more than 50 units consumed.

The minister rejected possibility of unannounced load shedding during Ramazan. He said that electricity consumers could contact him directly on his cellphone 0333-5210000 in case of load shedding during Iftar and Sehar timings.