Uniform power tariff termed mother of all ills
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Identical power tariff an insult to honest consumers
Power tariff should be linked to recovery: Mian Zahid Hussain
The Pakistan Economy Watch on Wednesday said uniform power tariff regime is the mother of all ills in the power sector and an insult to honest consumers.
Power tariff should be different for different jurisdictions and it should be linked to the recoveries as poorly managed and efficient Discos cannot be treated as one, it said.
The areas, where recovery is better, should be spared from frequent price hike and load shedding while the regions where recovery is low should be penalised, said Dr. Murtaza Mughal, President PEW.
Talking to the business community, the veteran business leader said that how come government deal with residents of Islamabad with the highest recovery rate the way it handles consumers of Quetta, Peshawar or Sukkur where the recovery is at its lowest.
He noted that power consumers are already paying 17 percent GST, Electricity Duty, Finance Cost Surcharge, Neelum-Jhelum Surcharge and TV fees, therefore, they should not be overburdened by using this weapon of choice.
Dr Mughal said that government finds it easy to hike the price of electricity, gas and petroleum products when it fails to collect taxes agreed with the IMF or keep the budget deficit in limits, he added.
He said that masses should not be penalised for the inefficiency and mismanagement of bureaucracy and politicians who are behind the power sector mess and record circular debt which has reached to the tune of almost Rs2.5 trillion.
The power tariff for different distribution companies should be different and a process of reward and punishment should be initiated so that Discos can improve their performance and masses can get some relief, he demanded.
