Govt working to extend electricity relief threshold to 250 units, says power minister

Minister for Energy (Power Division) Sardar Awais Ahmad Khan Leghari on Tuesday said that the government was working on a system to provide electricity relief to consumers based on poverty rather than consumption of up to 200 units, while efforts were underway to increase the existing threshold to 250 units. Speaking during a Senate session, Leghari said that wealthy consumers were installing solar panels to reduce their electricity consumption below 200 units and subsequently benefit from relief intended for lower-income households. He said the government was working on a plan to provide relief specifically to people living below the poverty line. According to Leghari, the number of electricity consumers using up to 200 units had reached 20 million, with most of them using solar energy. He stressed that electricity tariff slabs needed to be determined appropriately to prevent such problems in the future. Turning to the power sector's financial situation, Leghari said circular debt had declined to Rs1.67 trillion. The minister said the government had set a target to eliminate circular debt over the next four years, adding that the debt servicing surcharge associated with circular debt would also be abolished during the same period. He said the ministry had received Rs1.18 trillion in budgetary support when the government assumed office, but the amount had declined to Rs700 billion during the current year. Leghari maintained that losses incurred by electricity distribution companies (DISCOs) had been reduced every year. However, he acknowledged that the benefits of reduced losses had not yet been passed on to consumers. Read: Govt launches competitive power market for large consumers During the session, Senator Abid Sher Ali raised concerns about electricity tariffs and their impact on millions of Pakistanis. He said electricity bills had become unaffordable even for protected consumers. “If a consumer uses just one unit more than 200 units, the electricity bill suddenly doubles,” the senator said. He also questioned whether the burden of electricity theft in distribution companies was being passed on to poorer consumers. Responding to concerns about the tariff structure, Leghari stressed the need to determine electricity tariff slabs in a way that would prevent such problems in the future. Meanwhile, only two members were present on the government benches during the Senate proceedings. Last week, Leghari took strict notice of electricity distribution companies (DISCOs) imposing excessive and unjustified detection bills on consumers, warning DISCOs that no incorrect or arbitrary detection bill will be charged to any consumer in the future. In light of the Federal Minister's directives, the Power Division is mandating that all DISCOs issue detection bills exclusively through the centralized online portal developed by PITC. A complete ban has been enforced on the issuance of manual and discretionary detection bills by field staff or SDOs. Issuing manual bills will be officially treated as severe misconduct, liable to strict disciplinary proceedings and major penalties against the responsible officials and staff. Under this framework, comprehensive proposed amendments to the Consumer Service Manual (CSM) will be submitted in the coming days to bind every process within clearly defined timelines.

from Pakistan News, Latest News Pakistan, Pakistan Headline | The Express Tribune https://ift.tt/5oifhpS