There will be no reduction in gas and electricity bills by June

The federal cabinet on Thursday decided to keep gas and electricity prices unchanged for the next four months [till the announcement of next fiscal budget] and tasked the ministries concerned with reducing taxes on utility bills to provide some relief to the inflation-hit people.

The prime minister, while presiding over a meeting of the cabinet, directed the Utility Stores Corporation (USC) managing director to get edible oil and ghee from the factories set up in the erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas and Azad Jammu and Kashmir as these factories were exempted from all taxes and the USC could get their [factories] products at lower rates for consumers in other parts of the country.

“The prime minister directed the ministries of power and petroleum that no increase will be made in gas and electricity tariffs and [asked them to] come up with a comprehensive plan in the next cabinet meeting on how taxes on utility bills could be withdrawn,” Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Information Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan said at a post-meeting press conference.

“The prime minister wants ‘out-of-the-box solution’ on how to reduce electricity and gas bills,” she said, adding that the prime minister wanted that minimum burden of leakage, line losses and theft be transferred to the common man.