ISLAMABAD: Minister for Information and Broadcasting Shibli Faraz has said that government is taking practical measures to ensure availability of electricity to the consumers at affordable tariff rates.

Addressing a joint press conference along with Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Power Shehzad Qasim in Islamabad, he said that a basic agreement has been signed with Independent Power Producers as a first major step towards providing cheap electricity to the consumers.

The Minister said under the agreement signed with the IPPs, payments would only be made for the electricity acquired and consumed instead of the total installed capacity of a particular power plant.

Similarly, the equity return will now be made in rupee rather than the dollar like past.

Shibli Faraz said that past rulers signed power production agreements with IPPs at a costly rate for personal gains.

He said that these agreements not only forced the consumers to pay more cost of the electricity, but they also affected exports due to increase in cost of production.

The Minister promised that by 2023, the government would ensure supply of affordable electricity to the consumers as they no longer could afford costly energy.