The people of Karachi are unfortunately being treated differently than the rest of Pakistan, especially when it comes to power supply mechanism. They are a victim of bad policies and resource management.
Despite generating and contributing more than 50 per cent of the country’s revenue, and being the economic engine of Pakistan, the city finds itself paying for the inefficiencies and losses of power distribution companies elsewhere in the country.
In a recent interview, a former mayor of the city raised the point that people of Karachi are unfairly paying extra by way of the additional financial surcharge known as the Power Holding Limited (PHL) surcharge that became effective from March this year.
The surcharge is meant for the interest payments against loans held with the PHL, the company that financially transacts on behalf of power-generating companies and pays the fuel suppliers.
In 2020, the then government had decided to convert a large chunk of these loans into public debt and recover it from consumers to reduce the circular debt.
An amount of Rs800 billion is to be recovered, as per the recent auditor-general’s report.
According to K-Electric (KE), its books hold losses that need to be recovered via the surcharge. People of Karachi are, therefore, unnecessarily paying more out of their pockets due to the uniform tariff policy.
It ensures that apart from keeping the unit rate of power the same across the country, any other cost that needs to be billed, such as the PHL surcharge, is also applicable even if losses have not been incurred by the operating power company.
In the future, when other companies begin power delivery operations in Karachi, as is the plan, the PHL surcharge will still be applicable to their consumers.
Inflationary pressures are hurting people, and the step-motherly treatment towards issues of infra-structure and governance, such as water scarcity, environmental degradation, dilapidated roads, broken and barely functioning sewerage services, in Karachi is a further agony for its hapless citizens.
People are striving hard to make an honest living and pay their taxes, but there is minimal return in the shape of development, upkeep and governance. How much more burden the people of Karachi will have to carry on their shoulders? Will they ever get some relief?
KHAWAJA AMER
KARACHI
