Pakistan imposes surcharge of Rs1 per unit for major power consumers to woo IMF
KARACHI – Pakistani government has been making desperate moves to gather billions as the cash strapped nation and the International Monetary Fund failed to reach a Staff Level Agreement after crucial talks.
On Friday, the Economic Coordination Committee of the federal cabinet approved a major increase in electricity prices. ECC also approved the withdrawal of subsidies in electricity tariffs for the export-oriented sector and the Kissan package.
Sharif-led government okayed a revised circular debt management plan, where the tariff would be hiked around Rs7-8 per unit till August this year.
A statement issued by finance division stated ECC approved the proposal to recover Rs76 billion while exempting non-ToU domestic consumers having consumption less than 300 units and private agriculture consumers in four months period from March 2023 to June 2023.
It said officials decided to impose additional surcharge of Rs1 per unit for FY 2023-24 to recover additional markup charges of PHL loans not covered through the already applicable FC surcharge.
The country of over 220 million is facing a plethora of economic problems and is making all-out efforts to avert a debt default.
