Against the hard conditions of all round skyrocketing prices and ever increasing joblessness, the citizens have once again been forced to pay increased electricity bills for the month of May. They would be paying Rs 1.51 more per unit in addition and the amount would be charged in the bill for December. The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) has caused this increase under the garb of monthly fuel adjustment charges. This increase is made at a time when power outages have entered its worst phase and the loadshedding hours had gone up from 12 to 18 hours in most of the areas, particularly in Punjab. The Prime Minister’s pledge, soon after he took oath of office, that the crisis would be overcome on a war footing had lost its value. Temporary relief was provided to the consumers but their lives were made miserable again by raising the tariff after a few days.
The industry is crumbling due to lack of power. There appears to be no early solution in sight. People have been thronging to the Wapda offices for rectification of their swollen bills, alleging that while, on the one hand, they are suffering prolonged loadshedding, on the other they are receiving bills which are five to 10 times higher than usual. It is about time that the government shifted its focus to clearing the circular debt to IPPS and RPPS once and for all so that they could generate power to their capacity.