IMF rejects energy ministry's marginal energy package for industries

ISLAMABAD: The IMF has turned down marginal energy package for industries proposed by the Ministry of Energy, sources said.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) objected over the energy ministry’s proposal of providing 8,000-megawatt surplus electricity on cheaper rate to industries.

The officials of the energy ministry failed to convince the IMF on the marginal energy package, sources said.

In the next round of the economic review talks, a revised package of new proposals will be discussed with the IMF delegation, sources said.

The energy ministry had proposed 3-year package intended for AI, data mining, and industrial sectors, based on marginal cost, according to sources.

“It was suggested to reduce taxes on per unit rate of electricity for consumption of the surplus electricity,” sources said. “Only production cost and capacity charges would have been imposed on consumption of surplus electricity, while other charges including all taxes were proposed to be exempted,” sources said.

The IMF rejected the package due to the energy ministry’s inability to recover 100 percent dues, sources said. “The monetary fund has linked approval of the marginal package with 100 percent recovery,” ministry sources added.