Key points
- PM terms difference between production and consumption as major challenges
- “Apna meter: Apni Reading” app to benefit consumers: Shehbaz
- Says government would not discourage the solarisation boom
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has announced the abolition of the Pakistan Television (PTV) fee from electricity bills across the country.
He also highlighted challenges to the country’s power sector.
“Power theft amounting to Rs500 billion and the difference between the high production and less consumption of electricity are major challenges in energy sector”.
According to state-run news agency, APP, the prime minister was addressing the inaugural ceremony of ‘Apna meter: Apni reading’, a power-smart mobile application, developed by the Ministry of Energy Power Division.
Referring to vital reforms in the power sector, the prime minister termed the launch of the mobile app as a revolutionary reform step that would benefit the consumers.
Meter readers’ mechanism was now handed over to consumers through the developed app, the prime minister said.
Challenges in power sector
The prime minister also identified two challenges in the power sector, including power theft amounting to Rs500 billion and the difference between the high production and less consumption of electricity due to solarisation in the country, according to APP.
He said that they were fully cognizant of these challenges and were exploring ways to take the country on the path of progress, besides ensuring to further reduce the power tariff for the industrial or household consumers.
The prime minister, in his address telecast on national TV channels, referred to negotiations held with the Pakistani IPPs to bring down power tariff terming it ‘hard negotiations and a difficult phase’. Thus price of per unit was reduced to Rs7.41 for the households, APP reported.
While they also held negotiations with the banks to settle down the circular debt issue which was a big achievement, he added.
The prime minister said that when the prices of petroleum prices at the international market were sliding down, they took its advantage and provided relief to the power consumers in the fortnightly petroleum products price adjustments.
Solarisation boom
He said that the government would not discourage the solarisation boom in the country, as he welcomed the ongoing process, which is regarded as the most inexpensive way of producing electricity in the world.
The app enables consumers to take a photograph of their electricity meter on a specified date and upload it to the App.
Based on this user-submitted image, monthly electricity bills will be generated—offering a technological response to long-standing issues such as overbilling, reading errors and delay in reading.
