ISLAMABAD: A meeting of the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet took place in Islamabad on Tuesday, chaired by Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue, Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb.
The meeting was attended by Minister for Power, Sardar Awais Ahmed Khan Leghari, Minister for Planning, Development & Special Initiatives, Ahsan Iqbal, Minister for Commerce, Jam Kamal Khan (virtually), Economic Affairs Secretary Ahad Khan Cheema (virtually), Minister of State for Finance and Revenue, Ali Pervaiz Malik, along with federal secretaries and senior officials from relevant ministries and departments.
The ECC reviewed a proposal from the Ministry of Energy (Power Division) regarding a winter demand initiative aimed at optimizing electricity generation capacity and reducing gas demand by encouraging consumers to shift demand to electricity. The initiative targets industrial, domestic, commercial, and general services consumers, particularly those exceeding 200 units of consumption.
Under the proposal, a tariff of 26.07 Rs/kWh would be applied to eligible consumers on incremental consumption above a set benchmark. The initiative is set to apply over a three-month billing period, from December 2024 to February 2025. The benchmark for each month would be either the current year’s consumption or the average consumption over the past three years, depending on which is higher.
The ECC approved the proposal, calling the subsidy-neutral interim relief measure a timely response to recent increases in electricity tariffs and decreased demand across various consumer categories.
Additionally, the ECC reviewed a proposal from the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) to transfer Rs 3.14 billion from the former Emergency Relief Cell (ERC) into the NDMA Fund. This fund will be used for both domestic and international rescue and relief efforts, in line with the authority’s mandate.
The proposal was approved, with the condition that the funds, originally sourced from public donations for flood and earthquake victims, be exclusively used for rescue, relief, and rehabilitation activities related to natural disasters.
