Ministry prepares proposals to give relief to power consumers: Minister  

Caretaker Federal Minister for Energy, Power, and Petroleum Muhammad Ali has said that the ministry has prepared recommendations to give maximum relief to the masses in the electricity bills.

Talking to the 24NewsHD TV channel regarding inflated electricity bills, he asserted that only the cabinet could give relief to the power consumers. He further said that they have prepared a number of proposals after consultations and these would be presented in the Federal Cabinet’s meeting, scheduled to meet on Tuesday, for approval. He said the capacity payment is currently a major issue.

 The capacity payment currently accounted for two-thirds of the cost of power generation, he added.

To a query, he said that recommendations are in place to reduce the capacity payment to control the electricity tariff.

However, he confessed that factors like fuel cost and dollar rate in the price of electricity are not in the hands of the government.

Muhammad Ali said that it is included in the recommendation that the electricity bills for July should be received in installments

Apart from this, there are many recommendations which will be considered by the cabinet tomorrow, he hinted.

The caretaker minister clarified that the decision regarding electricity will be made within the IMF program and in consultation with the Ministry of Finance.

The minister appealed to the power consumers to be careful in using electricity.

“If electricity theft and line losses were controlled in the past, the burden would not have been so much on the consumers today, he remarked.

Muhammad Ali explained that electricity theft, non-payment of bills, and line losses increase the electricity tariff and burden the payers.

“We have set up a control room in the Ministry of Power Division to prevent power theft,” he said, adding that they also focus on power dues and recovery.

 

Reporter: Awais Kiyani