ISLAMABAD: The government has approved a package for electricity supply mainly to the industrial sector at a flat rate, which will be lower than the normal tariff, in an attempt to boost production, said Minister for Power Omar Ayub Khan.
Speaking at a press conference on Friday, the minister said the decision would help the government reduce capacity payments worth billions of rupees to the power producers, especially the private sector, reported The Express Tribune.
Omar added that the move would ultimately ease the burden of circular debt as idle capacity would be utilised in the winter season. “The package, recently approved by the government, can be expanded to other months also once we achieve the desired results,” he said.
At present, the package has been approved for four months (November-February) only, claimed the report.
He emphasised that the government was making efforts to add around 8,000 megawatts of renewable energy to the national grid by 2025, which would curtail the average power tariff.
The minister added that the Alternative Energy Development Board (AEDB), working under the Power Division, had given approval for the issuance of letters of support to 11 wind power projects having a cumulative generation capacity of 500MW. “Its cost will be 4.3 cents or around Rs6.5 per unit,” he said.
Under the package, a flat rate of Rs11.97 per unit will be charged to residential and commercial ‘time of use (TOU)’ consumers on their additional power consumption compared to the same month of the previous year, according to the report.
“Through this package, an extra 1,800-2,000MW of electricity will be provided to these consumers,” the minister said, adding that electricity would be available to the consumers round the clock.
