MQM-P urges govt to lower electricity rates, fuel prices

HYDERABAD: The former lawmakers of Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) have expressed concern over the hike in electricity bills,the prevalent problem of delayed bills and urged the government to withdraw the recent hike in units, ARY News reported.

In a statement issued here on Saturday the former MNAs Sabir Hussain Qaimkhani and Salahuddin said besides making electricity very expensive, up to 10 to 12 hours of load shedding was also being carried out, affecting domestic, commercial and industrial consumers.

They deplored that instead of ensuring that the meter reading of exactly, the meter readers of Hyderabad Electric Supply Company (HESCO) take readings of extra days.

They reiterated that the complaints about the burnt or defective transformers were not timely addressed and the consumers had to pay from their pockets to get the tranformers repaired even though HESCO’s stated policy was that the company was reposonsible for the repair and replacement.

The legislators said the expensive electricity at the time when the country and its people were reeling from inflation only multiplied woes of the people.They requested the government to withdraw the recent hike in the price of units and to address the services related issues of the power distribution companies like HESCO.

Earlier today, Jamaat Islami (JI) announced protest in markets across Karachi against the inflated power bills on Monday. The JI consultation meeting decided to hold protests in markets at the same time across Karachi.