Dawood urges industries to make the most of power tariff package

ISLAMABAD: Adviser to the Prime Minister on Commerce and Investment Abdul Razak Dawood on Wednesday urged export-oriented small, medium and large enterprises to capitalise on a power tariff relief package announced by the government.

Taking to Twitter, he said: “It was a long standing demand of our industry that our energy tariff be made competitive in order to reduce their cost of doing business. This demand has now been met.”

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“Exporters, large & SMEs, please utilize the benefits of reduced energy costs and go full speed ahead to translate this into greater exports for the country. The MOC is always at your service in case you face any hurdles.”

Earlier, on November 3, Prime Minister Imran Khan had announced a three-year relief package for the industrial sector, cutting rate of commercial electricity on additional usage by small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and omitting peak-hour  charges to encourage manufacturing.

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Unveiling the package, he said small and medium industries that will use additional power as compared to their previous bills will be supplied electricity at a 50 per cent reduced rate from November 1 until June 30.

For example, he explained, if an industrial unit would buy electricity at a rate of 16 rupees per unit and now it will get the same on 50 per cent discount on consuming additional electricity. He said it has also been decided to provide additional electricity at 25 per cent discounted rates to all the industries, including big and small units, for next three years.