Pakistan pushes up natural gas price ahead of IMF review
ISLAMABAD, Oct 31 (Reuters) - Pakistan announced on Tuesday a sharp increase in the price of natural gas for most households and industry ahead of the cash-strapped country's first review of a $3 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout.
A fixed tariff for 57% of household consumers has been raised to 400 rupees ($1.42) a month, from 10 rupees, the energy minister of a caretaker government, Muhammad Ali, told reporters in Islamabad.
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Low- and middle-income households will be charged lower prices and high income households would be charged more, he said.
New tariffs have also been introduced for industry, he said.
He said the tariff increase would generate nearly 400 billion rupees ($1.42 billion), adding that the state-run gas sector would from now on face no losses.
Energy sector debt has been the main issue that the IMF has highlighted in tackling the fiscal deficit and it has been recommending measures to deal with it.
An IMF team is scheduled to arrive this week to review benchmarks set for the $3 billion stand-by arrangement it agreed in July.
Pakistan is being governed by a caretaker administration in the run-up to a general election expected in January. ($1 = 281 Pakistani rupees) (Reporting by Asif Shahzad; Writing by Shivam Patel; editing by Robert Birsel Editing by Tomasz Janowski)