ISLAMABAD: Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Omar Ayub Khan on Tuesday said the price of electricity was Rs 17 per unit during former prime minister Imran Khan’s tenure in office, while it has now shot up to Rs 85 per unit, adding that 70 percent of the power projects were through imported fuel.
He made these remarks during a press conference alongside Leader of the Opposition in the Senate Shibli Faraz.
He criticized Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for announcing a Rs 50 billion budget for the power sector, saying that he himself would remain the power minister for some time, stressing that these empty measures would not bring any fundamental change.
“Shibli Faraz has written a complete article on Independent Power Producers (IPPs). The electricity rate was Rs 17 per unit when Imran Khan was the Prime Minister. You have a fixed dollar rate of return. You should know who the culprit is,” he claimed.
He said Pakistan’s power generation capacity was 43,000 MW while its demand was gradually decreasing day by day as the economy went into hibernation.
On the occasion, Shibli Faraz accused the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) of introducing the IPP and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) of completing the contracts with the IPP.
“They bought the most expensive power plants. Their generations will continue to benefit from these treaties and the nation will bear the brunt,” he lamented.
