PESHAWAR, April 30: The Peshawar Electric Supply Company (Pesco) is levying reduced power tariff charges on tubewells installed in Afghan refugee camps in line with a recent decision of the federal government, official sources said.

Sources said that in accordance with the decision the tube wells were now being charged D-1 tariff instead of the comparatively higher B-1 tariff. The decision came in fulfilment of a demand by representatives of Afghan refugees who had moved the federal government to extend relief to the refugees by applying reduced tariff to their tubewells.

The sources said that the refugees' representatives had adopted the stand that they could not afford to pay B-1 power tariff on their tube wells because of their meagre resources.

"In this respect, the Afghan refugees' representatives made a formal presentation to the federal authorities concerned few months back pleading their case on humanitarian basis," said a senior officer of a federal agency.

The D-1 tariff is meant for tubewells installed under the salinity control and rehabilitation project (Scarp) and per unit cost comes to Rs 5.06 excluding electricity duty and general sales tax.

The reduced tariff's application would enable the Afghan refugees to record marginal savings as earlier they were used to pay Rs 5.21 per unit - other than GST and electricity duty - under the B-1 tariff.