KARACHI: President Karachi Chamber of Commerce & Industry (KCCI) Iftikhar Ahmed Sheikh has asked the Prime Minister that although relief in the form of reduction in tariff has been announced but on the other hand, Fixed Charge of Rs460 to Rs2,000 have been added in the electricity bills which requires government’s intervention otherwise, relief provided by the federation would fade away.

Expressing gratitude to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif who has kept his promise of rationalizing the electricity rate by bringing it down by Rs10.69 per unit for industrial sector, KCCI President stated that the entire business community particularly the Small & Medium Enterprises (SMEs) were very grateful as they were finding it very difficult to survive purely because of exorbitantly high electricity rates but now, they will be able to breathe.

“We are sure that similarly, the gas prices will also be brought to regionally competitive levels as promised by the Prime Minister”, he said, adding that the energy tariffs have to be brought down to regionally competitive levels to bring cost of doing business and cost of manufacturing down to international level.

While once again thanking the Prime Minister for taking the right decision, President KCCI extended full support and cooperation to the government for all its future endeavours to promote industrialization and the exports.

The article, originally published June 16, 2024, was updated on June 21, 2024 to incorporate changes in its headline and opening paragraph.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024