Pakistan’s business community has strongly opposed the government’s new incremental electricity consumption package, as reported by national media on Wednesday.
According to details, the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) held a public hearing on Tuesday, where representatives from key industrial associations challenged the Power Division’s plan to offer electricity at Rs. 22.98 per unit for incremental consumption by industrial and agricultural users.
Businesses warned that the proposed tariff structure could cripple industrial growth and trigger factory closures if implemented in its current form.
During the hearing, chaired by NEPRA Chairman Waseem Mukhtar, industrial leaders from the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA), Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI), and Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) said the scheme was “discriminatory, overly complex, and finalized without consultation.”
They urged the government to instead fix the power tariff at nine cents per kilowatt-hour and lower the load factor from 60 percent to 40 percent to ensure fair participation across sectors. Industry representatives argued that the new tariff, tied to an ambitious 25 percent growth in consumption, ignored the ground realities of high energy costs, weak demand, and growing solar adoption.
