Pakistan’s business community has voiced vehement opposition to the government’s newest electricity consumption strategy announced over the weekend. At a public hearing held by the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA), leading industrial organizations said that providing electricity for Rs. 22.98 per unit at intermediate consumption and agricultural use levels was discriminatory, overly complex and had not been discussed with industries in advance.
Industry leaders called for a uniform tariff of 9 cents per KWH and a reduction in the load factor from 60% to 40% so that everyone can share. They warned that the proposed tariff will hit industrial development hard, indeed might deal a mortal blow to it either when textile units, which account for more than 60% of Pakistan’s exports.
