Govt 'withdraws' decision to hike charges for protected power consumers

• Govt to grant a subsidy of about Rs50bn.
• Tariff to remain at Rs3.95 a unit for up to 50 units.
• It will remain at Rs7.74 a unit for 51-100 units.
  

ISLAMABAD: The government has greenlighted withdrawal of the decision to increase charges for protected slabs of up to 200 units power consumption, sources told Geo News on Tuesday.

This has come as Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has taken approval from the federal cabinet for the circulation summary in this regard on an emergency basis, they said.

Citing sources, The News had on July 4 reported that the federal cabinet had taken another decision to implement a major condition of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) — to increase the tariff on electricity.

The sources had said that the federal cabinet had approved an increase in the basic tariff of electricity and approval had been taken through a circulation summary.

The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) had sent the decision to the federal government to increase the basic tariff of electricity by an average of Rs5.72 a unit.

According to the government sources, the decision of the federal cabinet had to be sent to the Nepra for uniform tariff.

Following the Nepra's approval, the federal government was supposed to issue a notification to increase the basic tariff of electricity by July 10, under the IMF conditions. However, the government decided against it for a specific period.

As per the sources, the relief is for this year’s remaining summer period, from July to September 2024, for consumers with up to 200 units consumption a month.

The federal government would grant a subsidy of about Rs50 billion to provide relief on the tariff, the sources said.

They said for lifeline customers using up to 50 units a month, the tariff would remain at Rs3.95 a unit. Whereas, for lifeline users from 51 to 100 units a month, the tariff would remain at Rs7.74 a unit for the said period.