ISLAMABAD : Former President of the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI), Dr. Shahid Rasheed Butt, said on Monday that the power sector has become a problem for the people and the business community.
The electricity price is increasing continuously, while new tactics are being adopted to rob consumers, which we strongly condemn, he said.
Shahid Rasheed Butt said in a statement issued here today that in the recent electricity bills, the due date has been changed from the 25th of the month to the 22nd, which will force millions of customers to pay a collective penalty of billions of rupees.
He said that banks were closed on the twenty-fourth and twenty-fifth of this month due to the holidays; therefore, the bill payment date should be extended to December 27 and penalties should be abolished.
The business leader said that people are already worried about inflation, and the ever-increasing cost of electricity is bankrupting them while businesses are facing a disaster.
Production and exports of the country’s largest textile industry are also continuously falling due to the wrong policy of increasing power tariffs, he said.
Shahid Rasheed Butt said that by increasing the price of electricity continuously, its use is decreasing, but the government is forced to pay the power plants according to their production capacity.
He noted that the entire burden of wrong policies will be put on the public as usual, which is unfortunate.
Shahid Rashid Butt said that people are not responsible for corruption and mismanagement in the power sector, but they are punished, which is sad.
NEPRA has decided to increase the electricity rates by more than Rs 3 per unit as part of the October fuel adjustment that will be charged in December bills, which means that consumers will be charged despite lower electricity consumption in December.
He said that the increase in electricity prices is being done at a time when there have been revelations of overbilling in electricity supply.
Everyone is concerned about household budgets and the current state of the economy, which is being affected by skyrocketing charges for utility services, especially electricity.
The tough conditions have cast a looming shadow over the economy, underscoring the need to find a holistic solution, and, surprisingly, various government initiatives to address the pressing issues have been lacking direction.
The practice of robbing consumers should be stopped immediately, and instead of putting them in more trouble, they should be given relief, he demanded.
