The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) on Monday approved the increase in the prices of gas in the wake of the government’s negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The session of the ECC, under the chairmanship of Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, commenced at 4pm to deliberate the move. The new price will take effect from Jan 01, 2023. On the other hand, the ECC also assented a grant of Rs40 billion for the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP). Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) had already proposed the increase in gas prices.
Earlier, the power distribution companies had filed an application in the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority seeking permission to collect an additional Rs17 billion in electricity consumer bills as the federal government was scrambling to appease the (IMF) by imposing new taxes on the public to unlock next $1.1 billion tranche of the $7 billion loan.
