Power division likely to revise electricity tariff for industries

ISLAMABAD: The Power Division has decided to revise electricity tariff for industrial consumers amid soaring circular debt that reached a staggering Rs5.73 trillion, ARY News reported on Tuesday.

According to details, the development was announced during a meeting of Senate Standing Committee on Energy.

During the meeting, Secretary Power Division said a plan to reduce electricity tariff for industrial consumers from 14 cents to 9 cents per unit has been chalked out. “Revision of tariff is necessary to support the industries”, he said.

The secretary noted that the people will only get employment if the wheel of industry moves. “The issue of circular debt in various institutions will also be resolved”, he added.

Meanwhile, the Senate committee has directed Secretary Power Division to apprise body about the circular debt in the next meeting.

Last year in December, the power division confessed to overbilling consumers, changing their slabs and damaged meters.

The initial report on the NEPRA investigation report revealed concerning findings, indicating that over 4.5 million consumers received bills exceeding 31 days. Additionally, a staggering 381,510 damaged meters have resulted in excessive bills.

In July, 846,468 consumers were affected as their slabs were changed with nearly, 2 lac protected consumers moved to the non-protected category.

The situation worsened in August, with over 5.574 million consumers receiving bills exceeding 31 days. A significant 825,562 power consumers were affected by changes in billing slabs during this period.

Furthermore, the Power division has criticized the NEPRA team’s process, deeming it ineffective and flawed. The report has loopholes related to quality control and data processing.

The development came after the Nepra exposed the “most controversial power theft drive” of the power distribution companies (Discos), defrauding consumers of billions of rupees by overcharging them as much as 100 percent.