Karachi: In a bid to provide relief to the poverty-stricken masses, the federal government explained a mechanism following which only those consumers will be exempted from the fuel cost adjustments (FCA) that consume less than 200 units of electricity.
Minister for Power Khurram Dastgir Khan, while addressing a press conference in Karachi, announced that 17 million people are being provided relief amounting to Rs22 billion on account of the FCA.
The power minister said that work is underway to restructure the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA). “The authority’s main task is to determine the tariff, which is facing delays,” he said, adding that if the tariffs are announced timely consumers will not pay the surcharge amount.
The development comes a day after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced that 17 million of the total power consumers would be exempted from paying the high fuel charges adjustment (FCA) in their electricity bills.
In a video address from Qatar, the prime minister explained the mechanics behind why FCA was levied and said it had seen a “considerable increase” for July and August’s power bills because of high international oil prices, which was “intolerable” for the common man.
He had said that after consulting with the International Monetary Fund, PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif and other coalition leaders it was decided that 17.1m electricity consumers would not have to pay the FCA.
He added that the government was also reviewing the situation for the rest of the 13m power consumers who were in a better financial position.
Shehbaz had said Power Minister Khurram Dastgir would hold a detailed press conference on the matter on Wednesday as he detailed the mechanism behind the announcement and how it would practically work.
