Islamabad: The National Assembly on Sunday approved six demands for grants worth more than Rs661 billion for the Energy Division by a majority vote, while rejecting 116 cut motions moved by the opposition.
During the debate on the Energy Division’s budgetary allocations, treasury and opposition members engaged in a heated discussion on electricity load-shedding, power tariffs, Independent Power Producers (IPPs), and the issue of circular debt.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader Atif Khan questioned the government on when the load-shedding problem would be resolved and demanded clarity on the future of agreements with IPPs. He said capacity payments were being borne by consumers and criticized delays in transformer repairs.
He also demanded that the gas requirements of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa be met before supplying gas to other provinces and sought clarification on whether the recent peace-related agreements would result in cheaper electricity and gas for consumers.
PTI lawmaker Ali Muhammad Khan said he opposed electricity theft and the ‘Kunda’ culture, but stressed the need for recruitment of additional linemen and technical staff to improve service delivery and reduce power outages.
Shahida Akhtar Ali questioned government measures related to geological surveys and sought details regarding the Climate Support Levy.
Aalia Kamran highlighted prolonged power outages in rural areas of Balochistan, stating that some regions were facing up to ten hours of load-shedding daily. She also called for a cap on the Climate Support Levy.
During the proceedings, opposition members submitted 116 cut motions against the Energy Division’s budgetary allocations.
In a notable moment during the session, MNA Sanaullah Mastikhel displayed his electricity bill in the House and pointed to various taxes included in it. Federal Minister for Energy Awais Leghari walked over to review the bill personally.
Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar urged lawmakers to keep their speeches brief and adhere to parliamentary rules, noting that members had been allotted two minutes each for discussion on cut motions but were delivering much longer speeches.
Responding to the criticism, Federal Minister for Energy Awais Leghari claimed that the government had reduced the burden on taxpayers by Rs587 billion over the past two years and had significantly reduced circular debt.
He said that if the figures presented by him were proven incorrect, he would resign immediately. He also acknowledged that electricity theft remained a challenge and had been occurring for years.
A brief exchange took place when Awais Leghari mentioned the founder of PTI during his speech, prompting Ali Muhammad Khan to object and remark that elected members had come through public votes while Leghari was serving as a senator.
The Speaker later observed that all members had been provided sufficient opportunity to express their views before the House proceeded with the approval of the demands for grants.