ISLAMABAD: The Federal Cabinet has given another decision to raise electricity tariffs, a key condition of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Sources said that the federal cabinet has approved the increase in the basic electricity tariff and it has been approved by a summary circular.
The National Electricity Regulatory Authority (Nepra) has submitted a decision to the federal government to increase the basic electricity tariff by an average of $5.72.
According to government sources, the decision of the federal cabinet will be forwarded to Nepra for a uniform tariff.
According to sources, under the HPG, the federal government should raise the basic electricity tariff by July 10.
According to sources, Nepra will increase the basic electricity tariff for the financial year 2024-25 and the approved increase will be effective from July 1, 2024.
Nepra has approved an increase in the basic electricity tariff by an average of $35.50 per unit for the financial year 2024-25 from the current $29.78.
The federal government raised the base electricity rate by $7.50 per unit in the last fiscal year that ended June 30, and by $7.91 per unit in the 2022-23 fiscal year.
The federal government has announced a one-time increase in the basic electricity tariff for the financial year 2023-24, while the basic electricity tariff hike for the financial year 2022-23 has been implemented in 3 phases.
Pakistan wants to sign a deal worth more than $6 billion this month with financial assistance of more than $6 billion from the International Monetary Fund, a state minister told Reuters.
The South Asian nation has set tough revenue targets in its annual budget to win approval from the HPG to borrow money to avoid another economic crisis amid domestic anger over new tax measures.
Pakistan reported tax revenue of $13 trillion for the fiscal year that began on July 1, a jump of nearly 40 percent from last year, and a reduction in the fiscal deficit to 5.9 percent of gross domestic product from 7.4 percent last year.
