Grinding Mills Association of Pakistan (GMAP) President Chaudhry Iftikhar Bashir has expressed his concern over increase of 68 paisa per unit in electricity prices and said second raise in power prices during one month would increase the hardships of the industry and common consumers both.
In a statement issued here on Saturday, he said that expensive electricity will hurt industrial sector badly. He said now the government had once again decided to increase electricity prices for payment of Rs 235 billion to power plants. He said that industry and masses are already paying their dues to the government and if it wanted to repay power plants then it should pay it from the bills collected from consumers and not by enhancing the prices.
Iftikhar Bashir said that the government had made three surcharges which had increased the price of electricity for industry. He said masses and industry were expecting a decrease in the wake of declining prices of petrol and furnace oil but government on the contrary enhanced the prices twice in the same month.