The Federal Energy Minister of Pakistan, Awais Leghari, clarified on Sunday that the government is not ending electricity subsidies for protected consumers.
Is govt ending electricity subsidies?
He said that the reports claiming that the subsidy is being taken away are not correct. According to him, eligible consumers will continue to receive relief. He added that the new system is to make sure that subsidies reach those who deserve them.
The minister said that the number of protected consumers has increased from 9.5 million to 21.5 million over the past four years.
He added that around 29.57 million domestic consumers are currently receiving some form of electricity subsidy. These show 86 per cent of all household consumers.
As a result, the cost of electricity subsidies has risen from Rs199 billion to Rs423 billion. He said that the government is providing a total of Rs527 billion in subsidies to domestic and agricultural consumers.
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The minister also said that the consumers who are eligible will continue to receive subsidies through a QR code based system.
He explained that the registration process has been introduced to ensure that financial support reaches the right people. More than two million single phase consumers have already completed their registration.
Leghari further said that the reforms in the energy sector have produced significant financial benefits.
He stated that the revision of agreements with independent power producers resulted in savings of Rs3.5 trillion. Rs193 billion was saved through a reduction in losses at power distribution companies.
He also said that circular debt lessened by Rs780 billion during the fiscal year 2024-25.
According to the minister, electricity tariffs have fallen for all consumer categories between March 2024 and May 2026.
Protected consumers saw a 31 per cent reduction in tariffs. The rates for general domestic consumers fell by 16 per cent.
In addition to this, industrial consumers got a 33 per cent reduction, and agricultural consumers saw a 14 per cent decrease.
He added that electricity prices for consumers in Azad Kashmir dropped by 45 per cent. While the national average tariff declined by around 20 per cent.
