AT long last, the government has promised to take measures to amend the electricity slab system that punished consumers for crossing the 200-unit threshold even by one unit in a month. Minister for Energy Awais Ahmad Khan Leghari told the Senate that work was being expedited to change the system under which a consumer crossing 200 units had to pay a much higher cost and remained ineligible for relief for the next six months. In a related development, the government and Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) have decided to form a joint committee to firm up proposals for a fuel relief package, following meeting of the JI Emir Hafiz Naeem-ur-Rehman with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday.
The two developments lack clarity but they augur well for consumers who have been protesting since long over continuation of a highly unjust slab system and uncalled-for levy on petroleum products, pushing their prices significantly up to add to the financial agonies of the masses. In the first place, the electricity and gas slab systems are classical examples of fleecing consumers. As per market principles, prices of goods and services are reduced for higher purchases and consumption but here consumers are penalized for using more units even when the system has surplus generating capacity. Regrettably, we happily pay trillions of rupees annually to Independent Power Producers (IPPs) for their idle capacity but are not willing to offer relief to consumers.
The issue is very simple: there should be one rate irrespective of the units consumed. And it is all the more unfortunate that a highly discriminatory tariff measure was devised to penalize consumers on crossing the threshold of 200 units in a month. There was justified resentment from day one against this unjust mechanism but the government took years to acknowledge that consumers were being exploited on this account. It is, however, ironic that the government still seems to be insensitive to the seriousness of the issue as is evident from the statement of the Minister in the upper house of the parliament. Awais Leghari told the house the government was considering two options: raising the threshold from 200 to 250 units; or abolishing the six-month penalty by allowing consumers to get the protected category benefit for the month in which they restrict consumption to 200 units. Increasing the limit by 50 units will not solve the problem but would mean continuation of the exploitation in a different manner. The other option will also be a continuation of the policy as a consumer crossing the limit by just one unit will receive a shocking bill for the month, upsetting the entire family budget for that month.
The Minister also stated that that the government was working on a new system to provide relief based on income rather than consumption. This is, obviously, in compliance with the IMF requirement and this measure is likely to be introduced from January 2027 and after its launching there should be no need to have a multi-tier slab system. As for the understanding reached during the meeting of JI Emir with the Prime Minister, it seems the government is unwilling to forgo the petroleum levy as it involved substantial revenue. The joint committee is mandated to propose recommendations for expansion of the fuel relief programme of the Prime Minister and preparation of feasible proposals for the budget for a phased reduction in the petroleum levy. It conveys a message that there will be no possibility of withdrawal of the levy and it could be reduced gradually starting from the next budget. In other words, petrol and diesel will continue to be sold at exorbitant rates and the fresh wave of general price-hike will persist, meaning no relief for the common man.
