ISLAMABAD: International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) mission chief Jeffery Franks expressed hope that Pakistan will overcome torturous loadshedding within a few years by improving efficiency, ARY News has learnt.
“In a major policy shift, Pakistan and the IMF have agreed that the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) will determine and notify the electricity tariff simultaneously which will become effective with immediate effect,” said IMF’s Mission Chief, Jeffery Franks.
He said that the government was making arrangements to finance Dasu and Basha hydropower projects.
“The solution will not come in the next one or two days but there will be no load shedding after a few years,” he added.
Under the new arrangement, the government will inform Nepra about the exact subsidy amount and then Nepra will notify the tariff accordingly. Now, in line with the IMF agreement, the government will authorise Nepra to determine as well as notifying the power tariff. The Finance Ministry’s Economic Reform Unit (ERU) did work on the cash-bleeding power sector to overcome lingering difficulties.
However, the IMF chief said that Pakistani authorities had accomplished audit of Nepra for diagnosis of its problems under structural benchmarks, enabling authorities to take corrective measures to strengthen the regulator of power sector — Nepra — without wasting any time.
“The government will have to amend its rules to delegate the power of notifying electricity tariff to Nepra,” he added.
