Federal Minister for Power, Khurram Dastgir, announced on Monday that the federal government would offer significant relief to power consumers by providing approximately Rs. 900 billion in subsidies, a national daily has reported.
Speaking at the LESCO Head Office, the Minister mentioned that the relief on electricity would continue this year, with arrears from the previous year also being paid. Efforts were being made to further reduce the price of electricity. In the new fiscal year, the coalition government plans to provide about Rs. 900 billion in relief on electricity bills to targeted consumers, along with a reduction in load-shedding duration compared to previous years.
Additionally, the government will allocate a tariff differential subsidy of Rs. 150 billion to ensure equal electricity prices throughout the country. A relief package of Rs. 58 billion has been set aside for agriculture tube-wells in Balochistan, and a relief of Rs. 315 billion is allocated for residents of Karachi. The relief package consists of two parts: Rs. 579 billion for power consumers across the country, with payments made to the Independent Power Producers (IPPs), and Rs. 25 billion relief for merged FATA districts in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa in the next fiscal year.
The Minister emphasized the government’s commitment to maintaining equal electricity prices nationwide. In the future, it may be decided to set rates based on losses in each region. He highlighted the addition of 3,800 megawatts of new electricity to the system in the current fiscal year, with 1,980 megawatts generated from Thar’s new electricity project, which was inaugurated by the prime minister.
Over the past year, the country has seen a total increase of around 5,000 megawatts in electricity generation capacity. He expressed disappointment that these projects should have been operational much earlier.
Regarding gas reserves, the Minister stated that they were depleting rapidly each year and estimated to last for 10 years. However, if utilized more efficiently, they could last longer. He acknowledged that while Pakistan had the capacity to generate expensive electricity, consumer acceptability was limited. Therefore, limited load-shedding would be implemented based on areas where bill collection and electricity theft were prevalent.
Efforts are underway to improve the standards of service to the public and consumers in every region. Staff shortages are being addressed, and equipment shortages have already been overcome. A new law has been proposed to empower DISCOs (distribution companies) to increase recoveries and combat power theft. The government is also finalizing a plan to utilize large-scale solar projects to reduce the cost of electricity.
Source: Pro Pakistani