In a welcome announcement for the Pakistani public, Petroleum Minister Musadik Malik has assured citizens that electricity prices will decrease in the coming days.
During an interview on a private television channel, Malik stated that the government has decided to bear the additional burden of electricity costs for 86% of households. To achieve this, the government will allocate 50 billion rupees from the national treasury to the power sector.
Malik also addressed concerns regarding the power distribution companies (DISCOs) and expressed hope that negotiations with the Jamaat-e-Islami regarding the Independent Power Producers (IPPs) issue will yield positive results.
It is noteworthy that the Jamaat-e-Islami has been staging a sit-in in Rawalpindi for five days, protesting against excessive billing and demanding the termination of expensive contracts with IPPs. All previous negotiations between the protesters and the government have failed.
The issue of exorbitant payments to IPPs and their expensive contracts has sparked widespread anger and protests across Pakistan.
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Former Federal Minister for Commerce, Gohar Ejaz, recently demanded the records of payments made to DISCOs (IPPs), stating that he has studied the IPPs agreements and is aware of their details. He alleged that the country is being looted due to mismanagement and corruption, leading to a decline in investor confidence.
Ejaz previously requested the Federal Minister for Power, Awais Leghari, to disclose the payment records to IPPs. He demanded the public release of data for all 106 IPPs, including the amount of electricity generated by each power plant compared to their capacity.
Power Division officials have stated that the government cannot unilaterally withdraw from sovereign guarantees-based agreements with IPPs, as it could lead to hefty fines from arbitration courts, similar to the Reko Diq case.
