The Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry, while strongly criticising the move to jack up power tariff by 38 per cent (Rs 3.06 per unit), has urged the government to avoid this devastating and irrational move, as it would not only destroy the already crisis-hit industrial sector but would also put an extra burden on trade besides earning a bad name for the government.
LCCI President Irfan Qaiser Sheikh, in a statement on Monday said that it was quite alarming that only last month an increase of 22 percent was made in electricity tariff that had failed to decrease ever-increasing gap between the cost of power generation and revenue collected.
He said that repeated irrational increases in power tariff are not the solution of power sector problems but the government would have to address inefficiencies of the system. Irfan Qaiser said the Pepco is adding up a staggering amount of Rs 30 billion per month as circular debt due to inefficiency in collection of power dues, its failure to stop power theft and "Kunda" culture. He said that these inefficiencies are actually an unjust tax on honest power consumers. The industrial sector as a whole pays its dues in time and there are no line losses/theft most of the industrial estates and industrial estates in Lahore are one example, he said.
The LCCI President said that the power sector planners should take cue from the efficient power distribution companies like Iesco and Fesco where the line losses are only 9 to 11 and the collection of dues is 99.9 per cent in contrast the line losses in SESCO (Sindh Electric Supply Company) are 40 per cent while the situation in PESCO, Hesco and Qesco is almost the same.
All the DISCOs should be directed to determine their respective electricity tariff on basis of line losses in that particular DISCO. For instance if the line losses in one DISCO are bigger than the other the power tariff in that particular DISCO should more than the other, he maintained.
Irfan Qaiser Sheikh said that a stern action against these inefficiencies or unscrupulous elements involved in malpractice would enable to government to decrease power tariff instead of making moves to jack up the electricity prices. He said business community was surprised that instead of taking measures to control line losses and enhance cheap power generation up to capacity, the policies are being evolved to add to the miseries of the business doing people. He said that industrial sector was passing through a critical time of its history. A large number of industrial units have already closed down their operations due to acute energy shortage. He said that situation needs corrective measures but the policy makers are doing the other way round.
He said that negative growth witnessed by the Large Scale Manufacturing sector was indeed an eye opener and a wakeup call to the government. He said that the industry needs a continuous supply of electricity to keep the units operational and to complete the export orders well within the given timeframe but only because of the shortage of electricity the exports are not up to the mark. Irfan Qaiser Sheikh said that Pakistan had already lost a number of international markets and the proposed increase in power tariff would make the Pakistani goods uncompetitive.
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