The Ministry of Water and Power on Thursday decided that it will not increase the power tariff, as decided by the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA). However, it will ask the Ministry of Finance to bear an extra subsidy of Rs200 billion.
According to sources, the Water and Power Ministry had prepared a summary for the increase in power price, which will be sent to the Ministry of Law for vetting and notification. However, it will not be applied to the consumers.
The move may annoy the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other multilateral lenders, who have asked Pakistan time and again to push up power tariffs and restrict subsidies. The government had raised the tariff by 16 percent in 2011-12 and 22 percent in 2010-11.
