Over 17m people are being provided relief worth Rs22b on account of FCA exemption: Dastgir
KARACHI
Federal Minister for Power Khurram Dastagir has managed to reach K-Electric head office in Karachi amid the masses’ protest against inflated and overbilling and prolonged power outages.
“We are here to settle down issues with K-Electric (do do hath kerna hay KE kay sath),” Dastagir said multiple times while addressing a press conference at K-Electric head office on Wednesday. “I know people are in pain and complaining against load-shedding and overbilling.” He added that the KE privatisation did not happen as per expectations in 2006.
The federal minister said that he has come to Karachi to settle long pending “financial and legal issues” between the federal government and the KE.
When a journalist asked whether he was going to renegotiate and sign a new agreement on privatisation with the KE, Dastagir did not deny it. Dastagir said that he is to hold a meeting with KE high officials after finishing the press conference today. He said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has approved waving off fuel adjustment charges of only those customers who had used up to 200 units during the month of June.
The fuel adjustment was charged through the current month of August billing. “The waver is only for one month.” He assured that power outages would reduce and fuel adjustment charges would taper off gradually. “Consumers will feel at ease from the month of October,” he further said. He said that the power consumers across the country had received increased electricity bills due to the fuel surcharge of June which was added to the bills of July.
The minister said that although the consumers had utilised lesser electricity during July compared to June, however, they received higher bills which included the surcharge of June.
