Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry (ICCI) has condemned the decision of National Electric Power Regulatory Authority as it has approved Rs.6.50 per unit hike for power tariff of Islamabad Electric Supply Company (IESCO) and Peshawar Electric Power Supply Company (PESCO).

The recent increase in the electricity rates every fortnight has added to the woe of public as they were already burdened by price hike of gas and petroleum, Yassar Sakhi Butt, President ICCI has said in a statement. He said that unprecedented increase in electricity tariff would also increase the power theft which would create more troubles for the consumers as they have to bear ultimate burden due to such practices.  

ICCI President said that power tariff in Pakistan was already highest in the region and in this situation, there was no justification to further increase it. He said that during the last two years, Government has made frequent hikes in power tariff making it more than 70-80 percent costly which has shattered the confidence of businessmen and investors in our economy.

He was of the view that consistency in power tariff was the key requirement for making long term business expansion plans. Frequent increase in electricity tariff was affecting investment and also destabilizing the economy, he added.

He said that instead of hiking electricity rates, government should focus on bringing more efficiency in the working of power transmission and distribution companies and check the unprecedented power theft and this abnormal increase in rates will further results in increasing power theft. He said that the official departments who are involved in the theft should be taken as it is need of the hour to act on these lines because there is no room to burden the masses.

He said that the prevalent inefficiency of these companies has touch 29 percent and was causing losses of billions of rupees to the national exchequer apart from affecting the entire national economy.

Yassar Sakhi Butt urged the Government to take the concrete steps to check line losses rather than increasing electricity rates which would be greatly helpful to control the escalating prices of electricity.