ISLAMABAD: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has expressed serious concern over increase in electricity rates and circular debt and claimed that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government has increased more than 52 percent electricity price and increased 116 percent circular debt during its tenure of three and a half years.

PPP parliamentary leader in the Senate Sherry Rehman in her tweet on Saturday said that with an increase of Rs2 per unit, Rs290 billion would be collected from the consumers. She said that during the PTI tenure, circular debt has been increased by Rs1,328 billion.

The PPP leader said that despite PTI claims to decrease circular debt, it is increasing day by day. She said that the PTI had claimed in its manifesto to end circular debt. The PTI government is increasing Rs33 billion in circular debt every month. Consumers would pay the price for “incompetence” of the government.

According to reports, total circular debt has reached Rs2.5 trillion during first six months of current fiscal year (2021-22) as compared to Rs2.303 trillion in the same period of 2020-21, with total growth of Rs196 billion as compared to Rs152 billion during July-December 2020-21.

Of the total amount Rs1.5 trillion was related to power producers, Rs79 billion to Gencos payable to fuel suppliers, and Rs904 billion is parked in Power Holding Limited (PHL).

Circular debt, which is a persistent headache for the government and sends an unpleasant message to the International Financial Institutions and local banks, is a product of incompetence, unbridled theft, high losses, rampant corruption and other factors.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022