Electricity tariff: APTMA Punjab chief for issuance of notification

The All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) Punjab Chairman Adil Bashir has urged the government to immediately notify the already approved electricity tariff of 7.5 cents per kWh in order to avoid the negative impact of COVID-19 on the textile industry.
He said the Economic Coordinating Committee has approved on 11th March that the five export sectors would be provided electricity at an all-inclusive rate of 7.5 US cent per kWh from January 1, 2019 to June 30, 2020, and all the applicable taxes issued from January 1, 2019 till date, which included surcharges, quarterly adjustments, and fuel price adjustments, financial cost surcharge and Neelum-Jhelum Surcharge, will be adjusted and considered as withdrawn.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Imran Khan had also assured of freezing the tariff to provide relief to the electricity consumers.
However, he pointed out that the textile industry is facing problem in payment of bills, as the electricity distribution companies (DISCOs) are issuing provisional bills while deferring the surcharges in the absence of notification.
According to him, the textile industry is already in disarray because of the cancellation of export orders from around the world on the one hand and the heavy burden of the salaries of factory workers on the other.