Petroleum Minister Musadik Malik assured citizens that electricity prices will decrease soon.
In an interview on a private television channel, Malik announced that the government has decided to bear the additional burden of electricity costs for 86% of households. To facilitate this, the government will allocate 50 billion rupees from the national treasury to the power sector.
Malik also addressed the ongoing concerns about power distribution companies (DISCOs) and expressed optimism about resolving issues related to Independent Power Producers (IPPs) through negotiations with Jamaat-e-Islami (JI).
JI Threatens Countrywide Boycott of Electricity Bills Over Govt’s Inaction
JI has been staging a sit-in in Rawalpindi for five days, protesting against excessive electricity billing and demanding the termination of costly IPP contracts. Previous negotiations between the protesters and the government have been unsuccessful. The issue of high payments to IPPs and their expensive contracts has led to widespread dissatisfaction and protests across Pakistan.