The energy minister in Pakistan, Awais Leghari, has announced plans to abolish additional electricity charges for six months for consumers whose monthly consumption exceeds 200 units.
Speaking during a Senate session, Leghari said the government was working on a new policy to address the issue and expected to introduce it soon.
Under the existing tariff structure, consumers who use 201 units of electricity can face a sharp increase in their bills compared with those who consume 200 units or fewer.
Awais Leghari said the current system disproportionately benefited wealthier consumers, adding that the government was working to introduce a revised policy.
He also said the government was working on a system in which electricity relief would be determined by poverty levels rather than the number of units consumed.
The minister said the number of consumers using up to 200 units of electricity had reached 20 million. He added that many of these consumers were increasingly relying on solar energy.
Leghari told the Senate that circular debt in Pakistan’s energy sector had fallen to Rs.167 billion.
The government aims to eliminate the debt within the next four years, he said, adding that the debt servicing surcharge associated with circular debt would also be abolished.
He said the Ministry of Energy had received Rs.1180 billion in budgetary support when the current government took office. That figure had fallen to Rs.700 billion in the current financial year, he added.
The minister also said losses incurred by the country’s electricity distribution companies (DISCOs) had been reduced each year, although the benefits had not yet been passed on to consumers.
Senator Abid Sher Ali said electricity tariffs affected millions of people across Pakistan and that even protected consumers were struggling to afford their bills.
He questioned why consumers faced a substantial increase in their bills when their monthly electricity consumption rose from 200 to 201 units.
He also asked whether ordinary citizens were being made to bear the cost of electricity theft and losses incurred by distribution companies.
