ECC approves gas tariff hike of up to 2.93x, effective from November 01

October 23, 2023 (MLN): The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC), in its meeting held on Monday, discussed and approved the Ministry of Energy's (Petroleum Division) summary to raise the gas tariff by up to Rs2,900/ MMbtu or 2.93x for all consumer categories, as revealed in a press release issued on the said day.

The aforementioned development will be effective from November 01, 2023, instead of October 01, 2023.

The meeting considered various agenda points and summaries submitted by the Ministries of Industries and Production, Ministry of Energy and Petroleum, Ministry of National Food Security and Research, Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority (ERRA), and the Ministry of Finance.

The Ministry of Industries and Production submitted a summary regarding the measures to meet the requirements of urea for Rabi season 2023-24.

The ECC discussed the proposal in detail and approved immediate import of 200,000 MT of Urea fertilizers.

The meeting also directed that uninterrupted supply of gas for the fertilizer industry to be ensured.

It was also decided that the provinces will be asked to act more proactively to bear the importation cost.

The ECC also discussed and approved the summary submitted by the Ministry of National Food Security and Research regarding the cost efficient import of 1.00 MMT of milling wheat for the year 2023-24, through TCP under through open tendering process, to maintain the strategic reserves.

The ECC also approved the proposal for encouraging the private sector to import specified milling wheat under Ministry of Finance Notification of November 14, 2008, while meeting the criteria envisaged in the import policy order 2022.

The committee also directed the Ministry to conduct a third-party verification of the wheat stock in the country.

The meeting also deliberated over a summary submitted by the Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority (ERRA) for approval of the Technical supplementary Grant of Rs484 million to meet critical expenditure on pay and allowances of 415 contract and project employees from July 2023 onwards.

The ECC directed the Ministry of Planning, Development and Special Initiatives to identify the savings to finance the salaries of the ERRA employees.

A summary of Ministry of Finance regarding the establishment of the National Credit Guarantee Company Limited to support the credit enhancement of the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) was also considered and approved by the forum.

The Federal Minister for Finance, Revenue, and Economic Affairs, Dr. Shamshad Akhtar presided over a meeting of the ECC.

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