NEPRA puts livelihoods at risk, say traders

Businesses face closure with terrible increase in input costs

KARACHI:

The business community, distraught by the increasing cost of inputs, has appealed to the government to stop the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) from taking anti-people and anti-business decisions as businesses are on the verge of collapse, putting livelihoods of millions of people at risk.

Now, there is no need to go on strike to protest the surging energy tariffs, because industries will eventually close down, which will also deal a blow to the country’s exports, it warned.

Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) President Iftikhar Ahmed Sheikh denounced Nepra’s decision that allowed a tariff hike of Rs7.0562 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) as fuel charges adjustment for January 2024.

In a statement, he emphasised that it was highly unfair to allow an additional tariff of Rs7.0562 per kWh to be charged from all categories of consumers with the excuse of variation in fuel charges.

“All the citizens and members of business community have already paid their bills for January 2024, therefore, Nepra has advised to collect the variation in fuel charges for January 2024 under a separate head in the bills of March 2024, which will not only affect the budget of almost all households but also terribly increase the cost for all types of manufacturing units,” he said.

Sheikh pointed out that the circular debt had continued to surge and crossed Rs5.73 trillion only because efforts were hardly being made to control theft and line losses. “They are trying to avert further increase in circular debt by raising tariffs, which is an unwise move as the hefty bills will worsen the situation by encouraging many to steal electricity.”

Read NEPRA orders inquiry into power rate hike demand

Talking to The Express Tribune, Hyderabad Chamber of Small Traders and Small Industry President Muhammad Farooq Shaikhani said, “The intricate economic web woven by loans and the government’s inclination towards seeking new loans for debt settlement is not a product of independent decision-making, rather it reflects the current state of affairs in Pakistan.”

Fulminating against Nepra for a drastic increase in electricity tariff, he dubbed the authority a manipulated entity that burdened both traders and the public with billions of rupees in the name of fuel charges adjustment. Shaikhani pointed out that during winter, electricity consumption had already been reduced to half, with a mere 12,000 megawatts being utilised from the grid along with 10 to 12 hours of load-shedding.

He asked for urgently reviewing the contracts signed with independent power producers (IPPs) with a view to rescuing the national economy in the larger interest of the country.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 29^th, 2024.

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