Electricity tariff to go up Rs1.39/unit; govt mulls ban on new gas connections

ISLAMABAD (HRNW) The electricity tariff will be increased by Rs1.39 and because of depleting gas reserves, the government will impose a ban on the new gas connections for domestic consumers till the introduction of the new pricing mechanism for imported gas.
Federal Minister for Energy Hammad Azhar said that this in a media briefing along with Minister of State for Information Farrukh Habib.
He admitted the fact that the government increased the electricity on the pressure of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank but convinced them that any major hike will be harmful to the economic growth.
“[The] IMF and [the] World Bank wanted us to increase the electricity tariff by around Rs3.50/unit; however, we convinced them for less than a half of their demand,” he said.
“However, we will also be introducing a new QTA (quarterly tariff adjustment) of 15 to 24 paisas from November 1, and so the increase will amount to Rs1.10,” he added.