PTI to start Countrywide Protests. How Serious is the Energy Business in Pakistan?

By  · Wednesday, Mar 21, 2012 0 Comments

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One might wonder the power of Economics OR to put it right Economic policies? Well, the answer, in Pakistan, is that not only it can screw your middle class, it will create an unrest in political climate.

In an interesting turn of events, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) announced that it will start countrywide protests on March 22 against the increase in power tariffs, party chairman Imran Khan said on Wednesday. Imran made this announcement during his speech at a rally in Muzaffargarh, reported Express Tribune.

The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) approved 21% increase in power tariffs on March 20, just a month after it increased electricity rates by 39%. It would be interesting to note that NEPRA chairman, Khalid Saeed recently resigned over allegations of working illegally over his office term.

While on one hand, Pakistani dams are reaching their dead levels and on other Pakistan is facing massive corruption in Govt regulated power sector. There is hardly an escape route from higher power tariffs.

The increase came after Nepra approved four petitions filed by the state-owned Central Power Purchasing Agency (CPPA), a subsidiary of the state-owned National Transmission and Dispatch Company. The CPPA claimed that its fuel costs for the month of October 2011 through January 2012 were far higher than those it was allowed to bill and so it must increase the tariffs in order to recover the costs it has already paid to power generation companies.

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