ISLAMABAD: The government has decided to further increase electricity prices by Rs4.37 per unit to recover an additional Rs122 billion from consumers in the next four months.
With the change, consumers will bear an additional cost of Rs721 billion just in current fiscal year. However, despite the anticipated growth, there would still be a Rs392 billion increase in the circular debt flow, which will be compensated by a decrease in the debt stock through budget subsidies, according to official data.
The officials said that the Rs4.37 per unit increase is aimed at keeping the circular debt at its current level of Rs2.31 trillion amidst no improvement in higher electricity losses and theft that caused additional Rs236 billion losses in the last fiscal year.
The increase has been made on account of the fourth quarter of last fiscal year’s adjustment and will be recovered from the consumers from September-December 2023.
A staggering Rs1.37 trillion more will be added to the circular debt in a ‘business-as-usual’ move – a hole that the government now wants to plug by increasing the electricity price.
