PM orders no power tariff raise for next six months

[Naveed Yaseen]

LAHORE: Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has told PEPCO not to increase the prices of electricity and instructed it to control line loses. International Monitory Fund (IMF) was pushing the government to withdraw the subsidy being offered to the consumers. However, it was decided in a high level meeting that due to high inflation rate and poor law and order situation, it is not possible to raise electricity prices. A PEPCO official said it was decided the prices of electricity would not be raised in six months, as this step would create problems for the democratic government and damaging the popularity. He said that IMF was pushing the government for increasing the price but the government was trying its best to sustain the pressure. He said with pilot projects of making industrial metres online the theft of electricity would be stopped at great extent. He said PEPCO was also working on the distribution, as it would save billion of rupees annually. The Power and Water Minister, Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, PEPCO Tahir Basharat Cheema, members of WAPDA and others were present in the meeting. sudhir chaudhry

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