Islamabad

As Pakistan continues to face economic challenges, the International Monetary Fund has made it tougher for the country to manage by rejecting the proposal for any tariff adjustment or provision of additional subsidy, source reported.

This occurred despite the authorities’ claims that bill collection for August was close to expectations.

In response to the IMF’s serious objections to the government’s proposal to provide relief to the poor against inflated power bills, Pakistan has requested that upcoming quarterly tariff adjustments (QTAs) and Fuel Price Adjustments (FPAs) of (PKR) 7.50 per unit be staggered over the next four to six months, source reported.

However, Pakistan has requested the IMF for staggering of QTA and FPA over a period of four to six months so it may also require some additional cost on which both sides will have to agree upon, top official sources confirmed while talking to source. According to the sources, the electricity sector’s troubles have persisted despite QTA’s mandate to raise rates by (PKR) 5 per unit in the current month and FPAs by (PKR) 2.72 per unit. In all, a rate increase of more than (PKR) 7 per unit is planned. The QTAs will be calculated using losses from the April-June period as a result of lower unit consumption, cost escalation of interest payments, and exchange rate movements, source reported. Earlier in July, amid the economic crisis in the country, Pakistan increased the electricity base rate by Pakistani Rupees (PKR) 7.5 per unit.