Premier vows more cuts in power tariffs
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday said electricity tariff will further be reduced for domestic and industrial consumers through power sector reforms.
Presiding over a review meeting on implementing reforms in the power sector, the PM said: “We promised to the public from day one that low-cost environment-friendly electricity will be provided to them.”
The prime minister pointed out that revisiting agreements with the Independent Power Producers led to savings for the national exchequer and reduced the price of electricity for consumers.
He said the reduction in deficits of power distribution companies (Discos) due to a campaign against electricity theft was made possible because of the hard work of the Ministry of Power and supporting institutions.
Shehbaz Sharif boasts of reforms to curtail Discos’ losses, improve recovery
“By the grace of Allah, the ongoing reforms in the power sector were yielding positive results.”
He said it was a good sign that the ministry and the relevant departments were cooperating to rectify defects of the last seven decades.
He vowed to bring down losses for Discos by speeding up the campaign against electricity theft.
He pointed out that the performance of Discos improved after the appointment of board members with good reputations from the private sector.
More members of good reputation from the private sector would be appointed to the boards of the remaining Discos, he said, adding that the reduction in distribution losses resulted from reforms.
He continued that the tariffs for domestic and industrial consumers would be further reduced.
The meeting was also briefed on targets to improve power sector performance in the next three years.
It was said that the receipts of the Discos reached 93.26 per cent by December 2024 due to the reforms and the campaign against electricity theft.
Reforms strategy
The participants were also informed about the strategy to reduce the circular debt in phases, the establishment of competitive markets for the transmission of electricity and the timeline for a reduction in power tariffs and other reforms.
The meeting was also updated on the progress status of the 500kV Matiari-Moro-Rahim Yar Khan and Ghazi Barotha-Faisalabad transmission lines.
They were also apprised of the National Transmission and Despatch Company’s dissolution and the progress of forming a new Energy Infrastructure Development and Management Company.
The prime minister instructed to complete all reforms and projects within the stipulated timeframe.
Published in Dawn, February 8th, 2025