<\/p>\n
Interim Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar presided over an emergency meeting regarding electricity rates and consumer bills on Sunday amid countrywide protests<\/a> by citizens over inflated power bills.<\/p>\n Caretaker Information Minister Murtaza Solangi said the meeting, which was held at the PM\u2019s Office in Islamabad, went on for more than two hours.<\/p>\n He added that the details of the meeting would be shared in a press release that would be issued shortly.<\/p>\n A day earlier, protests were held in cities across the country due to exorbitant electricity bills on the back of a significant increase in the national average tariff, prompting Kakar to summon an emergency meeting.<\/p>\n The premier will seek briefings from the power division as well as power distribution companies (Discos), to provide \u201cmaximum relief to consumers\u201d in this regard.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the government has also devised a plan to withdraw subsidised electricity availed by Discos and government officers in grade 17 and above.<\/p>\n Caretaker Information Minister Murtaza Solangi held a meeting with Power Division Secretary Rashid Mahmood Langrial on Saturday and discussed the issue of high electricity bills.<\/p>\n The minister confirmed to Dawn<\/em> that the facility of free electricity units to Discos officers would be discontinued as well and the \u201csummary to take back the facility of free electricity to grade 17 and above officers would be presented in the next cabinet meeting\u201d.<\/p>\n The minister was informed that the increase in electricity tariffs \u201cpredominantly affected consumers utilising more than 400 units\u201d per month, and the tariff has remained unchanged for 63.5 per cent of domestic consumers.<\/p>\n Separately, protests were also held in Multan and Lahore\u2019s Shahdara on Sunday against the exorbitant power bills.<\/p>\n Residents and traders in Multan\u2019s Alfalah Market took to the streets to protest against the electricity bills as they held banners and set tyres on fire, hence blocking roads.<\/p>\n Speaking to DawnNewsTV<\/em>, one of the protestors lamented that he was the sole breadwinner of the family and his bill was Rs24,000 even though he only used \u201cone refrigerator and fans\u201d. He added that last month too his electricity bill was Rs23,000.<\/p>\n Another man said, \u201cFlour is Rs150\/kg, petrol is Rs300\/litre \u2014 tell me where should I go, what should I do?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cShould I give poison to my children?\u201d he asked while visibly enraged. \u201cWhy is Wapda (Water and Power Development Authority) given free electricity?\u201d<\/p>\n Stating that his electricity bill was Rs15,000 while house rent was Rs13,000, he asked, \u201cShould I commit robbery? To us peaceful and pious citizens\u2026 I ask you to correct yourselves otherwise the public will not let you go.\u201d<\/p>\n He then called for reducing the bills by 75pc, asserting that that was everyone\u2019s demand.<\/p>\n During a press conference held by the Markazi Tanzeem-e-Tajran Pakistan, it announced initiating a \u201cprotest movement\u201d against the excessively high bills.<\/p>\n The union\u2019s chairman, Khawaja Salman Siddiqui said, \u201cIf the demands (to lower power prices) are not accepted, we will proceed towards a civil disobedience movement.\u201d<\/p>\n Meanwhile, residents, including women and children, in Lahore\u2019s Shahdara also held protests they burned this month\u2019s bills and vowed to not pay them.<\/p>\n Video footage from Lahore showed a pile of bills set on fire as dozens of people of all ages gathered on the streets and chanted, \u201cBijli mehngi, namanzoor<\/em> [Expensive electricity is unacceptable].\u201d<\/p>\n One of the women told DawnNewsTV<\/em> that she did not have money and her husband was a labourer, hence \u201ccould earn a wage some day and not on other days\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cDo we satisfy our children\u2019s hunger or get them educated?\u201d she asked. She stated that her power bill last month amounted to Rs10,000, therefore she had not paid it. \u201cWe cannot pay this huge bill. Help us, do something.\u201d<\/p>\n Another woman asked, \u201cDo we pay [house] rent or [electricity] bills or fulfil the needs of our children?\u201d<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) chief Sirajul Haq announced holding a nationwide strike on September 2 against the \u201cexorbitant increase in electricity prices, where people from \u201cKarachi to Chitral would take to the streets\u201d.<\/p>\n The party\u2019s Karachi president, Hafiz Naeemur Rehman, urged PM Kakar to \u201c announce immediate relief for the people\u201c in today\u2019s meeting on the matter.<\/p>\n He demanded that the power bills should be \u201crevised by eliminating illegitimate taxes\u201d and that the bills\u2019 due date should be extended.<\/p>\n Rehman added that if a significant reduction was not made in the bills, the JI would go on a strike and hold protests across Karachi on Monday and a sit-in outside the Governor House, according to consultations with industrialists, traders, and civil society.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, PML-N leader Khawaja Asif said that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) should be approached to negotiate on the possible relief that could be provided to the public.<\/p>\n The former defence minister proposed that the range of units consumed for lifeline consumers should be extended to 300 units from 200.<\/p>\n He further proposed that the current rule \u2014 under which anyone using more than 200 units even for one month is disqualified from any relief for the entire year \u2014 should be changed to a monthly assessment instead.<\/p>\n The PML-N leader also asserted that the \u201cconcession of free electricity to those appointed at above Grade 17 in all government institutions\u201d should be put to end as well.<\/p>\n Asif claimed that \u201c70-80pc of electricity theft occurs in the markets of major cities\u201d, which burdens the common user. He added that the federal government pays more than Rs900 billion to cover subsidies, theft, underpayment and line losses.<\/p>\n Separately, Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) also urged the interim government to take immediate steps, cautioning that if it \u201cdoes not show seriousness, defeated politicians can take advantage\u201d of the situation.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM-P) also called on the government to take immediate steps to address the people\u2019s concerns.<\/p>\n Addressing a press conference in Karachi, Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui urged the caretaker governments in Sindh and the Centre to resolve the issue at the earliest.<\/p>\n He said that the situation was moving towards becoming a law and order situation. He expressed concern over protests turning into violence. \u201cIf steps are not taken for immediate relief regarding electricity bills, then \u2014 due to the difficulties being faced by the people \u2014 we will not only be forced to become a part of their protest but will [\u2026] also have to announce some steps.\u201d<\/p>\n Siddiqui lamented that the burden of Wapda\u2019s circular debt was being put on the shoulders of the people of Karachi. He again urged the government to announce immediate relief for the public.<\/p>\n \u201cHyderabad is seeing load-shedding lasting 12-14 hours. The businessmen there are now forced to protest. The call that they have given, MQM has no other choice but to support this protest if the government does not have a solution.\u201d<\/p>\n Siddiqui said that despite the long hours of load-shedding, the power bills remained the same. \u201cWe want to assure the people of Hyderabad that we are standing with you in this issue,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Dr Farooq Sattar stated that the country was quickly headed towards \u201canarchy\u201d. He said that the power bills and tariffs had gone beyond the people\u2019s reach. \u201cThe upper middle class is also not in the position [\u2026] to pay power bills.\u201d<\/p>\n Giving an example, he said that if a household had a monthly bill of Rs2,000, then it would be 43-48 per cent more due to taxes. \u201cTaxes on using electricity? Nowhere in the entire world is there tax on using electricity.\u201d<\/p>\n Sattar said that the country and the public were moving towards \u201ccivil disobedience\u201d. He said that the party stood with all traders, the people, and the people of Sindh and Karachi.<\/p>\n He called on the government to place this matter before the International Monetary Fund (IMF). \u201cIf the country is destabilised, then no one can stop extremism and terrorism from boiling over.\u201d<\/p>\n Experts believe that the taxes and levies on electricity bills cannot be lowered in the short run. Maaz Azam, an analyst at Optimus Capital, said that it was not feasible for the current interim government to reduce or even delay the collection of any tax \u2014 especially keeping in view the pressure from the IMF to maintain fiscal balance. He added that it was primarily due to the high base tariff of Rs30 per unit that the electricity bills were inflated.<\/p>\n The report released by the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) highlighted that in the base tariff, Rs23 was regarding Power Purchase Price, and within it, 72pc was the capacity payment component, which is the cost of maintaining the power plants operational even when the government was not buying electricity from them.<\/p>\n In July, Nepra while determining the base tariff estimated that inflation in the country would be at 17 per cent while the dollar would be at Rs286 \u2013 and both estimates have already been proven wrong.<\/p>\n Analysts fear that there is no solution in sight. Samiullah Tariq, head of research at Pak-Kuwait Investment Company said, \u201cWe are in a complicated situation because there had been delays in determining the tariff and making recoveries around 12 months ago; now the key issue is the highly volatile exchange rate.\u201d<\/p>\n As pointed out by the analysts, electricity bills for the month of September can be inflated due to the high base tariff. Public pressure, including street agitations, can be expected in the coming days since the politicians have also joined the bandwagon.<\/p>\n Recently, the Power Division requested Nepra that the Rs5.40 per unit additional quarterly tariff adjustment (QTA) pending for April-June 2023 should not be implemented in this form.<\/p>\n The officials of the power division requested Nepra that consumers should be charged at a rate of Rs3.55 per unit for six months, instead of Rs5.40 per unit for three months, to reduce the price shock on consumers still struggling to absorb 26pc increase in base tariff notified in July.<\/p>\n However, Samiullah Tariq said that the only solution in the midterm and long term was to \u201cunbundle the electricity and gas utility companies and privatise them without any political or other interferences\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Interim Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar presided over an emergency meeting regarding electricity rates and consumer bills on Sunday amid countrywide protests by citizens over inflated power bills. Caretaker Information Minister Murtaza Solangi said the meeting, which was held at the PM\u2019s Office in Islamabad, went on for more than two hours. He added that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":596,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/i.dawn.com\/large\/2023\/08\/271702222ef437d.png?r=170232","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[192],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-595","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-islamabad-news"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/595","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=595"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/595\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/596"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=595"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=595"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=595"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Protests held in Multan, Lahore<\/h2>\n
Political parties warn of protests if public not provided relief<\/h2>\n
Experts say taxes cannot be lowered<\/h2>\n