Govt to increase power tariff by Rs1.95 per unit

The federal government on Thursday announced to increase the power tariff by Rs1.95 per unit.

The announcement was made by Energy Minister Omar Ayub at a joint press conference in Islamabad with Planning Minister Asad Umar and PM’s aide Tabish Gauhar.

The minister didn’t specify a date for the increase in the tariff. He blamed the past governments for the hike.

“Power generation is 43% expensive because of the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N),” the energy minister said. “The Nawaz-league signed malicious agreements.”

"We have paid Rs473 billion in subsidies during the ongoing financial crisis," Omar Ayub said. "I commend Prime Minister Imran Khan [and his policies] through which the government was able to pay this hefty amount."

Furthermore, he said that due to agreements signed by the Nawaz-led government with the power sector, which were based on "bad intentions and corrupt practices", the increase in electricity tariff was Rs2.18 but the present government had decided to increase the rates by Rs 1.95 in per unit.

Meanwhile, Speaking about PTI's economic policies, Asad Umar said that the government has been "consistently receiving good news regarding the economy for the last couple of months."

"Pakistan's economy is progressing and its exports are rapidly increasing because of the government's policies," he said.