Govt Cancels New Electricity Prices for Consumers Below 200 Units

The federal government has decided to withdraw the increased electricity prices for both protected and non-protected consumers utilizing less than 200 units per month. This comes after massive public outcry and online criticism against the government that is trying everything to convince the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to agree on a bigger loan arrangement this month. Last week, the lender asked the Shehbaz-led government to increase the electricity tariff by Rs. 5 per unit before July 10, 2024, to get a new program. The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) has also pushed a public hearing on the higher power tariffs to July 10 as the Power Division has asked the regulator to wait until the revised summary on tariff hikes is issued by the federal government. Previously, the federal cabinet had approved up to Rs. 7.12 per unit increase in the base unit price for higher-end domestic and other categories. For protected customers using up to 200 units, the tariff increase was as follows: For the non-protected class using up to 200 units, the tariff hike was: With these revisions, lifeline consumers using up to 50 units per month would have seen their tariff remain at Rs. 3.95/unit, and those using 51 to 100 units per month would have continued to pay Rs. 7.74/unit. With today’s withdrawal, sources said the federal government now aims to give a subsidy of Rs. 50 billion to both protected and unprotected classes to lessen the burden of power bills on consumption of up to 200 units.