Electricity tariff to go up by 17.6pc

[Hyde]

Electricity tariff to go up by 17.6pc​

Updated at: 0210 PST, Tuesday, November 02, 2010
ISLAMABAD: A 17.6 percent increase in power tariff is likely in the remaining eight months (November-June) of the ongoing fiscal year as the government has given an assurance to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that it would increase the power tariff by 2.2 percent each month to achieve its financial targets by end of June 2011, a senior official at the Ministry of Finance said on Monday.

Pakistan’s economic managers and an IMF mission completed the review of the macroeconomic policies for 2009-10 and outlook for the ongoing fiscal year with a note that policies should be aligned according to the latest developments to meet growing economic challenges.

Federal Finance Minister Dr. Hafeez Shaikh, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Governor Shahid Hafeez Kardar, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Dr Nadeemul Haq and other officials from the Finance Ministry and SBP officials participated in the meeting that undertook the review.

Increasing the power tariff by 6 percent by the start of each quarter would require the government to make a 21 percent increase instead of 17.6 percent through increments of 2.2 percent at the start of each month, the IMF has observed.

The IMF authorities have also made it clear that the road map for curtailing power sector subsidies and increase in power tariff should be implemented in a manner which helps reduce loss of income in the power sector, official sources said.

IMF authorities said that recovering electricity charges was essential to bridging the growing gap of Rs 250 billion between power supplied and charges recovered through utility bills. Increasing power tariff by 2 percent at the start of each month would help reach a 16 percent increase while a 2.2 percent rise would definitely help achieve the desired results, the authorities acknowledged.

 

[ajtr]

bijali ke connections katwa lo sab