PML(N) Quaid Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, who is surely the moving spirit behind people-friendly moves by the incumbent Punjab Government, has won hearts of the people of the province by announcing a substantial relief for power consumers. Addressing a joint news conference with her daughter and Chief Minister of the province Maryam Nawaz, he announced that the Punjab Government will reduce the per unit electricity prices by Rs. 14 for August and September, the remaining two months of the summer when consumption peaks.
This is, indeed, a substantial relief, which will benefit millions of families as the cut in the bill will be applicable to those consuming 500 units a month. No doubt, this is not a permanent relief but going by the fact that people find it beyond their capacity to pay electricity bills during summer months, this will help mitigate financial woes of a large segment of the population. The credit for this surely goes to the dynamic Chief Minister– Maryam Nawaz – who has been instrumental ever since assumption of her responsibilities as the chief executive of the province to resolve problems of the people and promote good governance. The latest relief is in addition to the widely-hailed initiative of her Government to provide solar panels free of cost to the disadvantaged citizens, which is also part of the strategy to help tackle the difficulties caused by inflated power bills. People of the province also speak high of her for taking practical steps to bring down ever-increasing prices of wheat flour. We hope other provinces would also follow the footsteps of Punjab and provide relief to electricity consumers in their areas of jurisdiction. At the same time, the Government must not deviate from the path of finding a permanent and sustainable solution to the issue of repressive electricity tariff.
