Today Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that lowering electricity prices is very important for his government and its partners.
He explained that making electricity cheaper is a big goal for PML-N President Muhammad Nawaz Sharif and his team. Sharif said that reducing electricity costs would help Pakistan's businesses and farms grow. He believes that if electricity prices are lower, Pakistani companies will be more competitive.
Sharif was upset that electricity problems were being used for political gain and said it was disrespectful to the people who just wanted solutions. He urged the government to fix problems and stop corruption in the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and the Energy Sector.
He promised that the government understands the people's problems and is working hard to solve them. He reminded everyone that the PML-N government had previously fixed the issue of long power outages.
Sharif also praised China for investing in Pakistan’s electricity production when others didn’t. In 2015, his government built four LNG power plants with good efficiency, and he gave credit to Nawaz Sharif for these projects. These plants were built for less money than expected.
The Prime Minister told ministers and officials to let people know about the government’s efforts to end power cuts. He also announced that people would get an extra 10 days to pay their electricity bills and that industrial electricity prices would be reduced by Rs 8.5 per unit. He mentioned a Rs 170 billion subsidy for industries.
Sharif spoke about working together to stop electricity theft and thanked the interim government, Sindh and Punjab governments, and Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir for their help.
He acknowledged that the salaried class is struggling but mentioned a Rs 50 billion subsidy for people using up to 200 units of electricity each month.
Sharif also said there are still issues with Independent Power Producers (IPPs), but the government is working on solving these problems, even though it will take time.
