The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) has given approval for several key measures, as reported by The News on Saturday. These include a quarterly tariff adjustment of Rs1.72 per unit for K-Electric, government guarantees amounting to Rs100 billion for Pakistan State Oil (PSO), and a Rs20 billion credit facility for Punjab’s Green Corporative Initiative.
The ECC session, chaired by Federal Minister for Finance Dr. Shamshad Akhtar and attended by other federal ministers and senior officials, considered summaries from various ministries such as Interior, Maritime Affairs, Energy (Power Division and Petroleum Division), Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety, and Defence.
The approval for the K-Electric tariff adjustment follows discussions on a summary submitted by the Ministry of Energy regarding “Uniform Quarterly Tariff Adjustments for K-Electric Consumers on a par with XWDISCOs 2nd & 3rd Quarterly FY 2023.” The ECC decided that the tariff adjustments for K-Electric, in line with the uniform QTA application guidelines, will be applicable for the consumption of July, August, and September 2023, to be recovered from consumers in December 2023, January 2024, and February 2024, respectively.
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Additionally, the ECC discussed the revision of Lighthouse Dues, approving a change from Rs7/NRT to Rs20/NRT under Section 10(1) of the Lighthouse Act, 1927.
Other approvals include an extension of the government guarantee ceiling of Rs100 billion for PSO until December 2024, subject to approval of terms and conditions by the Finance Division upon renewal. The ECC also approved the disbursement of Rs20 billion to the Federal Government Account by the Finance Department Government of Punjab for further disbursement to Green Corporative Initiative (Pvt) for the Green Pakistan Initiative.
A summary regarding the “Grant of Special Relief Package for Daily Wage Workers on Chaman Border” was considered, with the ECC directing the BISP to examine the cases of 8,000 registered daily wage workers at the Chaman border to determine eligibility for support from the allocated budget.
Furthermore, a summary submitted by the Ministry of Interior for a Technical Supplementary Grant of Rs47.45 million for repair and maintenance during CFY 2023-24 was considered and approved.
