Lahore (Web Desk): Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday said that the 63% domestic consumers using up to 200 units per month would be exempted from the recent increase in power tariff.
The prime minister said that a partial subsidy was also being given to the consumers of up to 300 units per month which comprise of around 31% of the total domestic consumers.
"Due to the toughest conditions from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the government had to raise the electricity prices but I stressed that the burden should not be passed on to the protected segments of the society," he said after witnessing the signing of a framework agreement between State Oil company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) and Pakistan LNG Limited (PLL).
It is pertinent to mention that the federal cabinet approved the power regulator’s request last week to increase the national average tariff, which will see some residential consumers paying up to Rs7.50 more per unit.
The cabinet had approved the hike through a summary and the decision was conveyed to the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) on Saturday.
NEPRA had set a public hearing for today to fulfil the formalities before implementing the hike, which will retrospectively take effect from July 1 and will apply to all power distribution companies (Discos) and the Karachi-based private utility K-Electric.
Earlier this month, the power regulator raised the national average tariff by around Rs5 per unit (equal to one kilowatt-hour, or kWh) to ensure Rs3.28 trillion in funds to the loss-making power distribution companies during the current fiscal year.
Addressing the event, the premier said it was really a great day as “we are standing here as brothers from two brotherly countries Pakistan and Azerbaijan.
He expressed wishes to the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev whom he met in Baku few weeks ago and thanked him for finalizing this agreement.
"We had extremely productive and very fruitful discussion over there as to how to promote economic relations between the two friendly countries," he said adding that immediately on his return to Pakistan, the Pakistan government extended approval to the Azerbaijan airline to land in Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi.
“This is a big step forward to promote tourism and investment and exchange of delegation between the two countries.”
Ambassador of Azerbaijan in Islamabad on the occasion said this framework agreement would help further strengthen bilateral economic relations.
He said cooperation between the two countries had remained sustainable since start of the diplomatic ties between the two brotherly countries.
the envoy said that approval of giving airspace to the Azerbaijan airline would increase the number of visitors and business delegation between the two counties.
He informed that a team of horticulture experts from Azerbaijan was arriving here in Pakistan to share their first hand experience in the sector with the Pakistani authorities.
Under the framework agreement, SOCAR Trading has offered LNG supply to Pakistan in the form of one cargo per month, on flexible terms and with the credit lines for 30 days after delivery of the cargo in one year contract which is extendable by another year.