Most of the Pakistanis are crushed under the enormous burden of electricity bills. On Friday, the Senate Standing Committee on Cabinet Secretariat presented a proposal to remove all taxes on electricity bills for the underprivileged class.
The Senate Standing Committee expressed deep concern over the recent surge in electricity prices. The chairman of the Committee emphasized that this constitutes a national crisis, citing numerous reported suicides linked to the price increase in the country.
The committee chair asked the NEPRA Chairman how they decided to increase electricity prices so quickly. They also wanted to get information about who owns the independent power companies.
They believed that the high electricity prices were causing many problems for people, so they tried to find a way to help.
The committee also asked for details about recent accidents where people got hurt or killed from electricity, bad home wiring, and what steps are being taken to prevent these accidents.
The committee was told that during the last year, 164 people died in power companies’ areas, and 106 people got severely injured. The committee chair suggested that they should work faster to solve these cases.
Why Electricity Bills Have Increased So Much?
In just one year, the cost of generating electricity in Pakistan has increased by a staggering 160%. This has put a lot of pressure on people who have to pay for electricity.
This increase is because Pakistan relies heavily on imported fuel to produce power. Almost one-third of the electricity in the country comes from furnace oil, coal, and liquefied natural gas (LNG).
As the value of the Pakistani rupee decreases and global tensions make the prices of these imported fuels rise, people all over the country are seeing an unbearable increase in their electricity bills.
Even though the basic cost of electricity doesn’t change much, Fuel Charges Adjustments (FCAs) continuously vary. This is what’s causing the increase in electricity bills for many people.