- The package aims to encourage the use of electricity to generate income.
- Electricity consumption in winter ranges from 9,000 to 12,000 megawatts.
- ECC also approves Rs26.07 per kWh for all eligible consumers.
ISLAMABAD: The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the federal cabinet has approved the winter package for electricity on additional use of domestic, commercial and industrial consumers, News reported Wednesday.
The incumbent government’s winter program aims to encourage the use of electricity from the national grid to collect money from consumers to pay capacity charges which amount to around Rs 2.7 trillion for the current exercise.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s administration earlier this month announced the introduction of the ‘Bijli Sahulat package’ for three months – from December 2024 to February 2025.
This package will allow industries, businesses, general services and households to make significant savings compared to current rates.
Electricity consumption drops significantly during the winter season, ranging from around 9,000 to 12,000 megawatts, while in summer it peaks at over 32,000 MW.
Such a gap requires incentives during the winter season to boost electricity consumption. Following solarization, it has become necessary to rely more on electricity during the winter season.
During its meeting today under the chairmanship of Federal Minister of Finance and Revenue Muhammad Aurangzeb, the ECC considered a proposal submitted by the Ministry of Power (Power Division) regarding a winter demand for industrial, domestic and non-industrial ToU (hours of use) – ToU consumers exceeding 200 units, commercial and general service consumers of Discos and K-Electric to enable optimal use of the system’s production capacity in addition to reduce gas demand due to favorable demand shift towards electricity.
It has been proposed that under the initiative, a tariff of Rs26.07 per kilowatt hour will be charged to all eligible consumers on the respective additional consumption, above the baseline consumption during the corresponding months. The initiative would be applicable for a billing period of three months, from December 2024 to February 2025.
The baseline consumption would be the higher of the relevant month’s consumption in FY 2024 or historical consumption over the past three years for the relevant months, based on a formula and terms and conditions presented to the ECC.
The ECC discussed the proposal and approved it, terming the subsidy-free interim relief initiative developed by the Electricity Division timely and relevant in view of the recent surge in electricity tariffs and reduced demand among various categories of consumers.
Besides, the forum also considered a proposal submitted by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) for transfer of the balance of Rs 3.140 billion from the erstwhile Emergency Relief Cell (ERC) to the NDMA Fund for carry out its rescue and rescue operations within the country and abroad. relief operations in accordance with the statutory mandate of the authority.
The suggestion was approved on the condition that since the ERC balances were public donations and were given for relief, rescue and rehabilitation of flood and earthquake victims, the NDMA would spend these balances on stated purposes.