Islamabad(Big Digit) : Caretaker government trying to save people from heavy electricity bills?
Caretaker government is taking measures to control inflation, Caretaker Prime Minister Anwarul Haq Kakar has called an emergency meeting regarding the heavy electricity bills. I have called an emergency meeting in the Prime Minister’s House on the issue of In the meeting, a briefing will be taken from the Ministry of Electricity and distribution companies and consultations will be held regarding giving maximum relief to consumers regarding electricity bills but the question is, how will the people get rid of the heavy electricity bills? The increase is known and for this purpose we will give an economic recovery plan next week.
While giving an interview to a private TV channel, he said that during the last few days, oil prices have increased in the international market, while the value of the rupee has also decreased, which has created economic problems. We also have to adopt austerity measures for economic recovery. It should be noted that in recent days the prices of petrol have increased in the global market and the value of the rupee has also decreased, resulting in economic difficulties. The bills have made life miserable for the people, now it has gone up to Rs 50 per unit. How this lightning bomb has exploded on our heads. When you know the cause of a problem, then you understand the problem.The previous coalition government of Pakistan hiked electricity rates, after which the basic electricity tariff was increased from Rs 24 82 paisa to Rs 29 78 paisa. Done. In such a situation, most Pakistanis are worried about how they will pay their electricity bills in the coming days.
It should be noted that the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) has increased the price of electricity by 4 rupees 96 paise per unit. With this increase, a unit that was costing 24 rupees 82 paise will now cost the same 29 rupees 78 paise.
That is, if your house uses 400 units per month, then earlier your bill would come to around twelve to thirteen thousand including tax, but according to the new prices, now the same bill can come to around sixteen to seventeen thousand including tax.
With regard to the decision of the federal government to increase the price of electricity, it says that consumers who use electricity from 1 to 100 units per month will have an electricity tariff of 16 rupees 48 paise after an increase of 3 rupees. The unit price will increase with higher power consumption.
As the tariff from 100 to 200 units will be 22 rupees 95 paisa after an increase of four rupees, while the tariff from 201 to 300 units per month will be 27 rupees 14 paisa after an increase of five rupees.
A few months ago, it was said by the government of Pakistan that relief is being given to household consumers consuming up to 300 units of electricity, while many consumers told us that they did not get any such relief, but there were some consumers who Claimed that they got relief in electricity bill for a couple of months.
After the new electricity prices, the monthly tariff for 301 to 400 units will be Rs. 32.3 paise per unit after an increase of Rs. 6.50 paise, while after changing the slab of 401 to 500 units, it will be Rs. 35.24 paise after an increase of Rs. 7.50 paise.
Users of 501 to 600 units will get a tariff of Rs 37 80 paisa per unit, while those who use more than 700 units per month will get a tariff of Rs 42 72 paisa per unit.
Note that all these prices are exclusive of taxes. According to experts, users of 700 or more units per month could end up paying around Rs 50 per unit, including all taxes.
If you look at your electricity bill, there are various types of taxes added to it. In which GST goes to FBR while e-Duty goes to provincial government. There is a TV fee and a SUR, a surcharge, which is added to the bill as the dollar and oil prices rise or fall.
Most of Pakistan’s electricity is generated from oil and Pakistan imports most of its oil, which is bought in dollars. Therefore, fluctuations in electricity prices also occur due to low or high value of rupee. Electricity theft is also a big problem in Pakistan. Apart from this, there are many government departments, which do not pay their electricity dues.
The price of electricity has increased, the question is how to reduce the electricity bill. Experts say that consumers should first take care not to use any machine during peak hours that consumes a lot of electricity. Like iron, washing machine, water motor, etc. Also, use alternatives to electrical items. For example, washing clothes by hand instead of using kitchen machines like chopper or washing machine. If using AC, make sure to run it at 26. Keep unnecessary lights and fans off to save electricity. This will also make a significant difference on the electricity bill. Remember that the price of electricity is mainly determined by two things. The first is the cost of fuel as the country has to depend on furnace oil, diesel, coal or other imported fuels from abroad to generate electricity. The second is the fluctuation in the value of the dollar. The market determines the value of the dollar.
One of the main reasons for the increase in current prices is the conditions set by the IMF during the Imran Khan regime and the granting of economic autonomy to the State Bank of Pakistan. Now the value of the dollar is determined by the open market. Due to the actions of the Imran Khan government, the control of the government of Pakistan over the State Bank has been limited as in the past. If artificially the government tries to control the value of the dollar, it results in increasing the burden on Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves, which creates more economic problems for the country. It should be remembered that the IMF has also imposed a condition that the government will not artificially control the value of the dollar and the value of the dollar will be determined by the open market. The two factors that determine the price of electricity, i.e. imported fuel and the value of the dollar, are not under the control of the Government of Pakistan. In this situation, alternative sources of energy can play an important role in providing relief to the people, but the journey towards promoting the use of alternative sources of energy in Pakistan has just begun. In the coalition government of former Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, the plan to add 10,000 megawatts of additional electricity from solar energy to the national grid was started, which is still being implemented. It will take time to see results. Similarly, one aspect is payments to private power plants (IPPs). It also has a very important issue of fixed payments regardless of power generation. These payments are made in dollars. Another major problem is the theft of electricity, which is disguised in a confusing term of ‘line losses’, but in simple words, it is electricity theft, i.e. the dishonesty of the dishonest is punished by the honest electricity consumers. Have to suffer. Consumers who come under the definition of ‘Line Losses’ are those who do not pay their electricity bills in full or pay their bills late or pay their bills in installments. This definition also includes those who steal electricity through swindling or other tactics and the cost is borne by consumers who regularly and honestly pay their electricity bills on a monthly basis. Due to these factors, the cost of generating electricity is not recovered in full and the deficit of the power sector increases which is now described by another term “revolving debt”. The interesting fact is that 75% of electricity is used by domestic consumers. The electricity used for industry, trade and business activities promotes business activities, if the use of this electricity increases, it benefits the country’s economy, but as a result of the use of electricity by domestic consumers, they have to pay more electricity. Bills arrive and become a source of public anxiety. Considering all this situation, a good strategy can be that the household consumers adopt the habit of efficient use of electricity. Until the current power crisis in the country is improved by alternative sources of energy, during this period we at the national level need to adopt the methods adopted in other developed countries of the world. People, institutions and businesses in the developed countries of the world use more and more sunlight. Business is done in daylight and most of the activities of daily life are done in sunlight. In our country, there is an unfortunate trend of keeping shops open late at night and wasting daylight. In view of the energy crisis, we also need to change our habits and lifestyle. The highest consumption of electricity is between 5 pm and 11 pm. Household consumers should not use high-powered electrical appliances such as AC, iron, motor, etc. during these evening hours so that the electricity bill of household consumers does not increase and the consumption also decreases. can be kept open. A good suggestion would also be to keep the existing bakeries and drug stores in the same area open on a weekly basis, ie if there are ten shops in the same area, one shop should be open at night and the others should be closed. This process can be done in order of days so that the people do not suffer and electricity can also be saved. By opening markets and shops early in the morning and closing early in the evening, considerable electricity can be saved, while billions of dollars worth of foreign exchange spent on imported fuel can also be saved. There is also a suggestion that electricity distribution companies (discos) should be privatized. In this regard, examples are given of PTCL and ex-TIP. Before the privatization of this sector, installing a telephone was the most difficult task, but since the privatization of this sector and more companies from around the world joined this sector, installing a phone connection has become the easiest task and the prices have come down significantly. Following the same example, privatization of power sector is also the need of the hour. Privatization of this sector will result in an environment of competition which will benefit the consumers while eliminating the convenience of electricity thieves. Electricity rates were increased by the previous coalition government of Pakistan, after which the basic electricity tariff was increased from Rs 24 82 paisa to Rs 29 78 paisa.
It should be noted that the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) has increased the price of electricity by 4 rupees 96 paise per unit. With this increase, a unit that was costing 24 rupees 82 paise will now cost the same 29 rupees 78 paise.
That is, if your house uses 400 units per month, then your bill used to be around 12 to 13 thousand including tax, but according to the new prices, now the same bill can be around 16 to 17 thousand including tax. With regard to the decision to increase the price of electricity, it is said that customers who use electricity from one to 100 units per month will have an electricity tariff of Rs 16 48 paise after an increase of Rs 3. will increase with more use. A few months ago, it was said by the government of Pakistan that relief is being given to household consumers consuming up to 300 units of electricity, while many consumers told us that they did not get any such relief, but there were some consumers who Claimed that they got relief in electricity bill for a couple of months.
After the new electricity prices, the monthly tariff for 301 to 400 units will be Rs. 32.3 paise per unit after an increase of Rs. 6.50 paise, while after changing the slab of 401 to 500 units, it will be Rs. 35.24 paise after an increase of Rs. 7.50 paise. Will have to.
Users of 501 to 600 units will get a tariff of Rs 37 80 paisa per unit, while those who use more than 700 units per month will get a tariff of Rs 42 72 paisa per unit.
Note that all these prices are exclusive of taxes. According to experts, users of 700 or more units per month could end up paying around Rs 50 per unit, including all taxes.
If you look at your electricity bill, there are various types of taxes added to it. In which GST goes to FBR while e-Duty goes to provincial government. There is a TV fee and a SUR, a surcharge, which is added to the bill as the dollar and oil prices rise or fall.
Most of Pakistan’s electricity is generated from oil and Pakistan imports most of its oil, which is bought in dollars. Therefore, fluctuations in electricity prices also occur due to low or high value of rupee. Electricity theft is also a big problem in Pakistan. Apart from this, there are many government departments, which do not pay their electricity dues.
The price of electricity has increased, the question is how to reduce the electricity bill. Experts say that shoppers should first take care not to use any machine that consumes a lot of electricity during peak hours. Like iron, washing machine, water motor, etc. Also, use alternatives to electrical items. For example, washing clothes by hand instead of using kitchen machines like chopper or washing machine. If using AC, make sure to run it at 26. Turn off unnecessary lights and fans to save electricity Preparing to put an additional burden of 144 billion 69 crores on electricity consumers, the quarterly adjustment request for April to June 2023 has been submitted to Nepra.
Electricity distribution companies have filed a request for quarterly adjustment for April to June 2022-23, electricity distribution companies have requested to recover 122 billion 41 crore rupees in terms of capacity charges, electricity distribution companies have incurred losses. It has also requested to receive 7 billion 35 crore rupees in this regard.
