PM defends Nawaz-era power plants

Shehbaz says it's govt's agenda to slash power bills as protests rage

ISLAMABAD:

As protests rage in different parts of the country against high cost of power, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif stated on Friday that the government was focused on providing relief to electricity consumers, as reducing electricity prices was a key agenda for PML-N President Nawaz Sharif, the government and its allies.

In his remarks at the cabinet meeting, the prime minister emphasised that the government needed to lower electricity prices to boost the country's exports. He pointed out that without this reduction, neither the agricultural sector nor the industrial sector could expand effectively. Competitiveness in the industry was directly linked to lower electricity prices, he remarked.

The prime minister's remarks came amid protests led by Jamaat-e-Islami against the high cost of electricity which prompted the shutting down of a major road to Islamabad, while protests were held in several other cities as well by traders.

Protesters, who have taken to the streets, are demanding the government to withdraw taxes imposed on power consumption which have triggered a massive hike in bills, exacerbating the suffering of consumers, particularly those from the low- and middle-income class.

The prime minister criticized the use of electricity issues for political gain, calling it disrespectful to the public. He highlighted that the nation sought a resolution to this problem.

Addressing inefficiencies and corruption within the Federal Bureau of Revenue (FBR) and the energy sector, and making the institutions efficient would set the country on the right path.

He assured that the government was aware of the people's problems and doing its utmost to address them.

Shehbaz noted that the PML-N government had resolved the 20-hour daily load-shedding issue. At that time, few were willing to invest significantly in electricity production, with China being the only country showing interest in investing in power generation.

In 2015, the prime minister mentioned that some of the fastest power-producing plants in history were installed. The government set up four LNG plants, each with a capacity of 500MW and a turbine efficiency of 64 percent. Credit for these cost-effective plants went to Nawaz Sharif. At that time, NEPRA's tariff was $8.5, and the plants were built for just $450,000. These agreements should not be criticised, as they represented a sincere effort to address Pakistan's most pressing challenge.

He instructed ministers and government officials to inform the public about the steps taken by successive PML-N governments to eliminate load-shedding in the country.

The government had extended the last date for paying electricity bills by 10 days, said the prime minister. Likewise, the electricity tariff for the country's industry had been reduced by Rs 8.5 per unit. A Rs 170 billion subsidy was being provided to the industry in this regard.

The prime minister said that the government was making collective efforts to address electricity theft. He praised the interim government, the Sindh and Punjab governments, and Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir for their dedicated efforts to tackle the issue.

He expressed concern that the salaried class had been heavily burdened. However, the government had provided a Rs50 billion subsidy for consumers using up to 200 units of electricity per month.

Sharif said efforts were underway to resolve issues with Independent Power Producers (IPPs). However, he acknowledged that the issue could not be resolved overnight and the government was trying to address it.