LAHORE - The Pakistan Electric Power Company (PEPCO) officials Saturday explained the government is not raising power tariff by 17 per cent from July 1. Commenting the news item airing from different local news channels they said that there is no such plan to increase power tariff in the near future. They said that raise in power tariff is not justified when there is no electricity in the country. They Pepco officials said that the government was facing strong opposition from all walks of life including the business community for plan to hike the power tariff when the budget 2009-10 was being given final touch. It is to be noted that business community has already termed the proposed increase in power tariff as anti-business, anti-people and an attempt to cover the incompetence of Pakistan Electric Power Company (Pepco). It is also worth mentioning that the Prime Minister has also sought clarification from officials in this regard. According to media reports Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani on Tuesday expressed reservations over the proposed increase in power tariff by 17 per cent under the Letter of Intent (LoI) signed with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). During his meeting with the Ministry of Water and Power he was quoted as saying that raise in power tariff is not justified particularly at a time when there is no frequent and smooth electricity in the country, reports said. It is to be noted that several local news channels on Saturday was claiming that power tariff was being raised by 17 per cent from July 1 as government was withdrawing the subsidy of Rs 65 billion on electricity. As a result of discontinuation of subsidy on electricity by the government the power tariff will be increased by at least 17 per cent from July 1, the news cannels maintained. They further said that Wapdas revenue would increase by Rs25 billion after the rise in power tariff. This will cut down Wapdas deficit by Rs400 billion in the next two to three years, they said.