The government has decided to increase the base tariff for electricity in Pakistan by Rs4.96, Aaj News reported on Friday, saying a notification could be issued later in the day.

With the latest increase, the per unit base price of electricity will go from Rs24.82 to Rs30. This is exclusive of all taxes. After adding taxes and slab rates, the per unit of electricity will cost around Rs50 to consumers using over 200 units or kilowatt hours per day.

Sources said that the increase is likely to be made on the demand of the International Monetary Fund.

The government has already imposed taxes worth Rs172 billion on IMF conditions to get bailout money in the face of depleting foreign reserves.

Even though the bailout has now been unlocked, the lives of citizens are unlikely to improve immediately as Pakistan goes through an adjustment process to try and get its economy back on track.

The PDM-led government, which took power in April 2022, increase the bas power tariff by Rs5.2 for Karachi consumers in June 2022.