ISLAMABAD: Energy Minister Awais Leghari stated on Tuesday that although Pakistan has the highest electricity prices in the region, the impoverished receive discounted power rates.
Speaking at the National Youth Convention in Islamabad, the minister stated, “Undoubtedly, we’re providing the most expensive electricity in the region, but poor consumers are getting at subsidised rates with others bearing the burden.”
The minister stated that while businesses all around the nation were closing due to the high cost of electricity, the government was “now providing electricity to the industries at lower rates, bearing the additional costs.”
Leghari further requested that the country accept “two hours of loadshedding,” claiming that this would enable substantial savings of up to Rs50.He stated, “Another way to save electricity is to replace inefficient fans with energy-efficient ones. The government has designed a new power plan to do away with load shedding.”
The minister of power went on to say that consumers used to pay Rs. 10 for each unit of electricity, but that price has gone up as a result of the local currency’s depreciation against the US dollar. “At present, the average cost of electricity is Rs44 per unit,” he stated.
