PM Sharif announces 3-month Electricity Bill relief package for protected consumers
PM Shehbaz announced a 3-month electricity bill relief package for protected consumers. This relief will cover 94% of the country’s domestic power consumers. Around 25 million domestic consumers will avail of this relief from July to September.
You can get complete information about your current month’s LESCO electricity bill
The government calls consumers who use less than 200 units of electricity per month “protected.” The electricity bill relief package offers a Rs 4–7 per unit discount for this category.
The government will manage this subsidy burden through its federal government development fund, allocating Rs 50 billion for a 3-month relief package.
PM Sharif further stated, “The government is fully committed to providing relief in electricity bills to its people and does not believe in false and hollow claims, just like previous governments made.
The domestic consumer is already paying Rs 24 per unit, even after consuming less than 200 units of electricity per month. A new tariff increase will cost approximately Rs 34 per unit. For an ordinary laborer, it is becoming too difficult to manage his electricity bill and household expenses.
This electricity bill relief package is also part of the new three-year program with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Public anger over overbilling, accumulated bills during Eid Ul Adha, and hot weather led to the decision to adjust the 51% tariff increase. The government decided to exempt protected category consumers from the Rs 4–7 per unit price increase for at least three months of hot weather.
PM Shehbaz also asserted that the time has come for the elite class to repay the nation. He also mentioned that the government is considering closing non-performing sectors, which are still a burden on the country’s economy.
The government also decided to generate around Rs 100 billion by imposing new taxes on the real estate sector. This tax will undoubtedly raise the burden on ordinary people’s lives. It may lead to an increase in property costs as well as rents. It makes tenants lives more painful.
There is a general consensus that after these three months, a rise in tariffs will ultimately intensify the public’s wrath against the government. The government does not seem to be fulfilling its promise of providing free electricity, up to 300 units per month, to the nation.