KARACHI: Industry has raised questions over decision by National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) to allow past four years fuel adjustment charges to K-Electric.
In a joint statement the leaders of North Karachi Association of Trade & Industry (NKATI) on Wednesday said that according to the law the distribution company not allowed to collect fuel adjustment charges for more than two months, but on the contrary, NEPRA has allowed to K-Electric for collecting four-year fuel adjustment charges which is a gross violation of the law.
They said that NEPRA’s move is a conspiracy against businesses as the products that was exported four years ago can how cover the cost of fuel adjustment now.
According to NEPRA’s notification, the amount will be charged from January 2020 to September 2020 in electricity bills.
Capt. A Moiz Khan, patron in chief, NKATI and Nasim Akhtar, president, has strongly opposed the NEPRA to receive 4-year fuel adjustment charges from industries and refused to accept this decision.
In an appeal to Arif Alvi, President of Pakistan, Imran Khan, Prime Minister, Power Minister and Chairman NEPRA, said that the permission to collect fuel adjustment charges to K Electric for the period from July 2016 to June 2019 should be canceled immediately or else industries will be destroyed.
Capt. Moiz Khan and Naseem Akhtar said that business community of Karachi are already badly affected due to high doing business cost, while electricity tariffs have also been raised, huge taxes and in the current economic situation it extremely difficult to run industries, as industrial wheel is almost jammed due to over-production costs, especially the SME sector will be ruined and even the remnants of exports will be completely closed.
They expressed concern that due to of such measures, industries will be defaulted and Government will be responsible.
Nkati’s leaders urged to President and Prime Minister to immediately cancel K Electric’s permission to collect 4-year fuel adjustment charges and measures should be taken to protect industries from destruction, otherwise the industries will be locked up, which will lead to unemployment and worsening financial crisis. It will also have a very negative impact on exports so such decisions should be avoided.
