IMF boosts gas prices by 50% while granting wiggle room
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has been given permission by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to spread out the payment of power bills for customers consuming up to 200 units over a period of three months. In return, Pakistan must declare a 50% hike in gas prices starting in July and a crackdown on electricity theft.
According to sources at the energy ministry, interim Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar and his cabinet must still approve this agreement between the IMF and Pakistani authorities.
The IMF has provisionally allowed the gradual payment of August’s power bills over three months for customers who are not qualified for subsidies and use up to 200 monthly units, according to sources who spoke to The Express Tribune.
Only about four million consumers, or about 10% of all consumers, will therefore be qualified for this help. The government increased costs by Rs7.28 per unit for consumers consuming up to 100 units, making each unit cost Rs24.21. The cost increased by Rs8.28 per unit, to Rs30.68 per unit, for customers utilizing 101 to 200 units.
Requests for feedback on this topic from interim energy minister Mohammad Ali went unanswered. The short-term reprieve for electricity users will cost the gas industry’s customers, though. The IMF has mandated that Pakistan simultaneously announce assistance for a particular class of power users, launch a campaign against theft and poor bill recovery rates, and, most significantly, raise gas prices.
Published in EDP BLOGS on September 07,2023.
