Electricity bills surpass house rents: Bloomberg

A Bloomberg report has revealed that electricity bills in Pakistan have now exceeded the cost of household rent, considering that electricity prices surged by 155% since 2021.

According to the report, the tariff increase has driven electricity costs above the average rental rates for homes.

The report attributes the soaring inflation to the government's compliance with the IMF loan conditions, which have necessitated hikes in electricity tariffs and other economic reforms.

"The South Asian nation has seen electricity prices surge 155% since 2021 after the government started hiking industrial and retail rates to bolster its chances of securing loans from the IMF".

"The average per-unit electricity price for residential users rose 18% in July when the country secured a new $7 billion loan from the IMF," said Samiullah Tariq, head of research at Pakistan Kuwait Investment Co.