Reversal of power tariff hike demanded

PHMA says affordable electricity imperative for industrial growth

FAISALABAD:

The Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers & Exporters Association (PHMA) has demanded immediate withdrawal of increase in electricity tariff for industrial sector to enhance exports.

In a statement, the Senior Vice Chairman of PHMA, Muhammad Amjad Saeed Khwaja, said that provision of cheap electricity was imperative to ensure growth of industrial sector on solid and sustained foundations.

He said that electricity was a basic necessity to run the wheel of the industry.

If its rate was increased for this sector, it would enhance input costs which would reciprocally make products costlier and uncompetitive in the international markets, said the PHMA senior vice chairman.

He said that increase in electricity rate during peak hours would have adverse effects on industrial sector which was already on the verge of collapse. The PHMA official said that the cause of increase in electricity tariff was actually the uninterrupted power pilferage by the influential consumers.

The caretaker government must take bold steps to come down hard on power pilferage, which had become a continuous threat for the national economy, he said.

If the caretaker setup successfully handled this issue in addition to conducting fair and free elections, it would give an immediate relief to the industrial sector as well as the general public, he added.

He demanded of the government to immediately withdraw the enhanced electricity rates for the industrial sector and exempt it from the peak hours “as per the earlier decision of the Supreme Court of Pakistan”.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 18^th, 2023.