The Government rejected the steep hike in electricity bills

At a public hearing presided over by National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) Chairman Tauseef H. Farooqui, trade and industrial bodies, mostly from Karachi, protested over such a massive price hike, saying the industry was already at its last leg of survival and the additional burden would lead to the closure of businesses, wipe out export market as products become uncompetitive and add to the employment losses.

The flabbergasted consumer representatives, one after the other, expressed their anger in a language that the Nepra chief had to intervene with repeated requests to convey their feelings in a professional manner and appropriate words.