ISLAMABAD – The government has convened a meeting of the ministries of Water and Power and Law on Tuesday to resolve the issue of imposition of two percent surcharge per unit on electricity from April 1. An official source said the meeting was called after the Ministry of Law and Ministry of Water and Power failed to devise a mechanism for imposing the surcharge. The Ministry of Law had refused vetting the summary of the Ministry of Power, saying the reasons cited for the surcharge would be quashed if challenged in a court of law.
The power ministry had argued that the imposition of surcharge was possible as it was it was part of the finance bill and allowed under the regulatory law. Both the ministries have failed to sort out the differences since March 11. The failure to resolve the issue has put on hold the hike in power tariff, as agreed with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the source said. Ministry of Water and Power’s Adviser Shahid Sattar confirmed that a meeting had been convened and said that the matter would be resolved by today (Tuesday).
