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ISLAMABAD: The government notified on Friday subsidised electricity rates for agriculture sector to provide relief to the farming community.
The notification is based on a decision of the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the cabinet to allow the subsidised tariff of Rs10.35 per unit for agricultural sector till June 30, 2015.
The decision was originally taken in August 2013 after talks between the Kisan Ittehad and Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif.
The notification asks all electricity distribution companies (Discos) to immediately implement the tariff approved by the ECC.
The distribution companies (except Quetta Electric Supply Company) will charge the farming community at a fixed rate of Rs10.35 per unit and the arrangement will apply with retrospective effect — from July 1, 2014 to June 30, 2015. The average tariff approved by the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) is about Rs14 per unit.
Farmers in Qesco’s jurisdiction are already provided a much higher subsidy under a separate mechanism introduced by the Musharraf government.
Under the notification, the federal government will pay the subsidy. During peak hours — 6pm to 10pm — in winter and 5pm to 11pm in summer, there will be no power supply for agriculture tube-wells.
The general sales tax on sale of electricity for tube-wells will be paid to Discos by provincial governments while the monthly fuel price adjustment charge will be borne by the federal government.
The minister for water and power said that the decision had been taken to provide maximum support to farmers to encourage them to achieve higher yields of different crops.
He claimed that the policy of providing subsidy last year resulted in record wheat production.
The subsidy will require an amount of Rs22 billion for the current year, up from the last year’s Rs18.5bn.
Published in Dawn, November 22th , 2014
