PBF demands end to free electricity to DISCOS, officials

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Business Forum (PBF) has asked the federal government to do away with the provision of free or subsidised electricity to all power distribution companies (DISCOS) and government officials.

The PBF said that this step was expected to save the national exchequer over Rs10 billion annually.

PBF Chief Organiser and Central Vice-President Chaudhry Ahmad Jawad stated that the days of living like royalty should come to an end for the privileged individuals.

He questioned why a certain segment of society enjoys the privilege of free electricity when the country was already grappling with an economic crisis. He said that parliamentarians, traders and the general public pay their electricity bills from their own pockets.

Read more: Power tariff jacked up by up to Rs7.50 per unit

Similarly, the PBF has strongly criticized the increase of up to Rs7.50 per unit in the basic electricity tariff by the Power Division, which will severely affect the lower-middle-class consumers.

PBF Vice-President Jahan Ara Wato stated that the impact of this increase was not limited to the average consumers only but it will also affect commercial consumers and industrial consumers who use 400 units or more every month.

Wato said, this increase will take the rate from Rs35.38 to Rs41.35 per unit, while the industrial tariff (B1, B2, B3, and B4) will increase by up to Rs38 per unit, excluding FPA, QTA and taxes.

Wato also expressed concerns about the continuous increase in electricity rates, which has significantly raised the cost of industrial production, leading to higher inflation and further burdening the country’s poor population.

She emphasized that running businesses and industries has become increasingly difficult due to this hefty tariff hike.

Line losses and theft

The PBF also acknowledged that they understand the tariff was increasing based on the recommendations of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

However, they questioned why the IMF did not insist on implementing zero line losses and theft within the distribution companies.

They asserted that it would not be a challenging task if the government implements the correct procedures for billing rates in the country.