Another power tariff hike

To say that Pakistani citizens are waking up to the news of a new price hike almost every other month is not mere exaggeration. Under the ruling PTI, the prices of essential and non-essential commodities have been so frequently hiked that it is becoming increasingly impossible to keep a count. And the latest price hike comes with the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority’s (NEPRA) recent notification. The company noted that as part of September fuel adjustment bills, electricity tariff has been increased up to Rs2.5 per unit. According to the order, the hike would be implemented from this month onwards, making the collective burden borne by the people at a staggering Rs90 billion. This increase would, however, not apply to K-Electric consumers. The others though, are going to find their food basket even more compressed, as the inflation in the country is already surpassing nine percent.

It is pertinent to note here that electricity tariff had been increased just last month, following the federal cabinet’s approval of Rs1.68 per unit. This was made in line with quarterly tariff adjustments. However, the government in the past week purchased the costliest-ever LNG cargo at the rate of $30.6 per mmbtu. Around 25 percent of Pakistan’s principal source for power generation is LNG. Last year too, when the LNG cargo was procured at a higher price than anticipated, the average consumer had to bear the brunt of government’s inept decisions. It is then safe to assume that Pakistani people are going to experience another hike in their electricity bills during the winter months, when the country already experiences a shortage of gas.

The working class of the country are already struggling to put food on the table faced with higher prices of essential commodities – wheat, flour and pulses, electricity, petroleum products, gas… and the list goes on. All this at a time when the unemployment rate in the country is around five percent and salaries do not reflect the increasing inflation. The incumbent government and its ministers have time and again reassured that the hike in prices is ‘temporary’. But they must be reminded that for many living below the poverty line, surviving day-to-day life is becoming burdensome let alone surviving this ‘temporary’ period.