KATI seeks relief in power tariff

KARACHI: The Korangi Association of Trade and Industry (KATI) on Tuesday requested National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) chairman Taseef Farooqui to review a decision for receiving quarterly adjustments on electricity bills in 3 months.

The association asked NEPRA to recover the quarterly adjustments in 6 to 8 months. “Due to the severe economic crisis in the country, despite paying the State Bank of Pakistan

100 percent of the money for the issuance of letters of credit (LC), industrialists are suffering

severe financial loss due to the closure of LCs,” KATI president Faraz-ur-Rehman said in a letter to National Electric Power Regulatory Authority chairman.

The shortfall had been compounded by fines on containers stuck at ports, a dollar shortage, high-interest rates and record inflation, causing industries to collapse, most industries were shutting down, and people to become unemployed in large numbers, he added.

“In such a case, receipt of quarterly adjustments by NEPRA in a short period of 3 months will increase the burden on the industrialists, especially the small industries, which they cannot afford.” He further stated that the zero-rated export industry should be facilitated on a priority basis as the subsidy available to them had been removed.