ISLAMABAD: Weekly inflation held firm at 9.05 percent on an annual basis, fueled by rising petroleum product prices and sharp increases in essential food staples, official statistics showed.
However, economic experts warn that standard government reports continue to mask one of the heaviest financial burdens on domestic consumers: non-transparent power tariffs driven by massive capacity charges paid to Independent Power Producers (IPPs).
According to the latest Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) report released by the Statistics Bureau, 27 out of 51 monitored items became more expensive during the week. Prices of 18 items remained stable, while only six items recorded a price reduction.
Transport and Essentials Drive Weekly Gain
The Statistics Bureau linked the recent increase in food prices directly to higher petroleum rates, which escalated supply chain and transportation costs.
During the week, high-speed diesel prices rose by 4.17 percent, while petrol became 2.46 percent more expensive. Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) registered a 1.90 percent increase.
The fuel hike immediately spilled over into daily essentials:
- Eggs went up by 3.16%
- Wheat flour increased by 2.00%
- Potatoes rose by 1.93%
On the cooling side, onions dropped by 7.62 percent and chicken fell 11.20 percent on a week-on-week basis, offering slight relief to household budgets.
Shocking Year-on-Year Spikes
A year-on-year analysis reveals a far harsher reality for average households, with basic kitchen items experiencing triple- and double-digit price explosions:
- Tomatoes: +228.71%
- Onions: +95.36%
- Wheat Flour: +78.65%
- LPG: +51.76%
- Diesel: +37.42%
- Petrol: +23.28%
The Unreported Burden: Capacity Payments and Power Tariffs
While the Bureau’s report tracks line-item kitchen expenses, it omits a primary driver of household financial distress: the surging cost of electricity.
Every monthly power bill carries a hidden surcharge that never appears in official weekly inflation releases—the forced capacity payments made to IPPs out of public money.
Under guaranteed “Take-or-Pay” contracts signed with power producers, the government is legally obligated to pay fixed annual sums to IPPs to cover their capital costs, debt servicing, and return on equity—even if the plants sit idle and produce zero electricity.
These multi-billion rupee fixed payments are passed straight into consumer bills through base tariff hikes and Monthly Fuel Charges Adjustments (FCA).
As high tariffs force households and industries to cut back on power consumption, the fixed capacity costs are spread across fewer units, driving per-unit electricity prices even higher in a vicious cycle.
