PM announces ‘3-month concession’ for lifeline consumers – M Haris

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday announced that the government would not be increasing the electricity rates for protected customers who consume up to 200 units of power for a period of three months.

“The household consumers who consume up to 200 units of electricity will get a subsidy for three months — July, August, September,” Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif told an event in Islamabad.

The announcement comes after public outcry over a government’s decision to massively increase the tariff, touted as a pre-condition to secure the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) loan.

The prime minister, whose government has been under severe criticism for burdening the salaried class through the new budget, said the subsidy would cost the national exchequer Rs50 billion.

“These households make up 94% of the electricity consumers. This subsidy will be funded through our budget’s development fund,” he said, reminding the nation that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government had slashed power prices sans allocation in the budget.

PM Shehbaz said under the package, cost of per unit electricity will be Rs4 to Rs5 per unit and consumers of K-Electric will also be eligible for this subsidy.

The premier said the decision has been taken to provide relief to common man in the wake of increase in prices of electricity.

He said these three summer months are the hardest to cope with and ultimately from October onwards as the weather gets pleasant, the electricity consumption also gets down.

The PM said the coalition government will overcome all difficulties together and added that the only way to overcome economic woes is to nab corruption.

More to follow…