Free electricity quotas merely tip of iceberg

LAHORE: The total cost of free electricity units being used by the state-owned entities in the country’s power sector alone ranges between Rs22 billion and Rs25bn per annum whereas the allowances being given to other government departments’ employees from grade 1 to 22 are also worth billions, leaving the government with no option but to pass on such a huge financial impact to consumers. However, highly-placed sources don’t see this impact as a big one compared to huge capacity payments, which have now reached Rs2 trillion and are liable to be paid to the independent power producers (IPPs) by the end of this year. Due to taxes and line losses amounting to billions of rupees, the cumulative financial impact is also being passed on to end-power consumers gradually in the form of inflated bills. “No one is thinking about the main issues bringing consumers under immense financial stress due to inflated bills,” says a former chief executive officer of a power distribution company (Disco), referring to the capacity payments.