News
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Govt notifies 2% increase in power tariffISLAMABAD: The federal government on Tuesday officially notified two percent increase in the power tariff with immediate effect to bridge losses of the power sector. Sources in Ministry of Water and Power informed Daily Times that the increase was made after 11-day negotiations with International Monetory Fund (IMF), which had been advocating six percent increase in the tariff. He said the increase would not apply to lifeline users, who had been consuming electricity from 1 to 50 units per month. “However, consumers using from 50 to 300 electricity units will be charged two percent increase,” he said. “After the increase, the government will be able to generate Rs 850 million per month with total burden over consumers reaching up to Rs 3.4 billion in the next four months (Mar-Jun),” sources explained. The government assured the IMF delegation during recently held talks that it would impose 15 percent flood surcharge and 2.5 percent special excise duty as well from April 1. They said that increase in the tariff, which had been on hold since December 2010, was inevitable for the reduction of the fiscal deficit and also for the revival of a standby agreement with IMF. The subsidy for the power sector was fixed at Rs 30 billion for the fiscal year 2010-11 but was subsequently increased to Rs 67 billion. The fiscal deficit could cross 8.4 percent in the current fiscal year if cuts in expenditure are not made. zeeshan javaid
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk