The Islamabad Chamber of Small Traders (ICST) on Sunday criticised the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) for burdening electricity consumers with additional burden of Rs 40 billion, days before the budget.
ICST Patron Shahid Rasheed Butt said that the masses and business community are already buying costly electricity which has compromised their abilities therefore additional burden is highly unjustified and unacceptable.
The government should not target honest consumers but the power thieves to control losses, he said in his statement.
Butt said that NEPRA has allowed an increase of Rs 1.24 per unit in the tariff for the next year having an impact of Rs 40 billion while Rs 70 billion would be taken away from masses in four years to pay hydel profit to the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).
Earlier, Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) took a loan of Rs 25 billion on 7.5 per cent interest to pay net hydel profit to KP province and tried to put burden of debt servicing on masses but failed to do so.
However, sooner or later, WAPDA will find a way to milk masses, he said, adding that the continued upward revision in electricity tariff will hit masses, industry and agriculture.
The government should plug annual losses of Rs 360 billion and stop punishing honest consumers, he said.
Butt said that the government is spending billions of dollars on new power projects and it should keep prices within limits, otherwise there would be surplus electricity in the country but no buyers.