KARACHI: K-Electric (KE) has announced relief to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) through prepaid power bills under the ‘Chota Karobar-o-Sanat Imdadi’ package announced by the federal government.

According to a spokesman for the power utility, under the package, eligible commercial customers with sanctioned load up to 5kW and industrial consumers with sanctioned load up to 70kW will receive a maximum subsidy of up to Rs100,000 and Rs450,000 in their electricity bills, which can be utilised in six months starting from May, 2020.

“The subsidy amount per customer will vary in line with the government directives based on the electricity consumption of the consumers in the base period (i.e. May to July 2019),” he said and added that the appropriate average would be used for customers whose electricity consumption data might not be available for the base period.

The spokesperson said the relief would significantly ease the financial burden on the commercial and industrial entities who experienced significant business disruption and supported economic activities during this unprecedented pandemic.

“This move follows the provision of reliable power supply across the city following the lockdown even to high-loss areas and installment plans for residential customers using up to 300 units per month,” he added.

The spokesperson said the KE was committed to ensure uninterrupted power supply to its over 2.8 million customers.

Published in Dawn, May 19th, 2020