ISLAMABAD (Kashmir English): The government has decided to defer the payment of August electricity bills for flood-affected agricultural and commercial electricity consumers until December.
According to Power Division sources, affected consumers will pay August bills in installments from January to June so that they don’t feel financially burdened.
Overall, domestic and commercial consumers have been given a relief of 17 billion rupees in August bills.
Out of these, bills worth 11 billion rupees have been waived for domestic consumers, while a decision has been made to defer bills worth 6 billion rupees for agricultural and commercial consumers. This step has been taken keeping in mind the convenience of flood victims.
2.5 million electricity consumers
The government has provided relief to approximately 2.5 million electricity consumers.
This year, floods in Punjab caused extensive damage. According to the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) report, approximately 3,775 villages in 27 districts were affected due to floods in the Chenab, Sutlej, and Ravi rivers and water released from some dams in India.
The agricultural sector suffered particular damage. Approximately 2.2 million acres of agricultural land were affected, including Kharif crops such as cotton, rice, maize, and other crops. The destruction of Kharif crops has raised fears of an increase in food prices.
