Federal Minister for Energy Owais Leghari has said that the number of electricity consumers using less than 200 units has increased significantly, rising from 9 million to 21 million across the country, creating serious challenges for the power sector.
Speaking during a television talk show, Owais Leghari stated that a large number of affluent consumers install solar systems and then fall into the category of using less than 200 units of electricity, which has sharply inflated the overall figures.
He explained that providing a 70 percent discount on electricity tariffs to such a massive segment of consumers is beyond the financial capacity of the state, as it places an unsustainable burden on national resources.
The federal minister further said that in the recent relief package for industries, the prime minister announced the abolition of cross-subsidy in order to bring balance to electricity pricing and offer more realistic support to the industrial sector.
Owais Leghari added that Pakistan’s industrial electricity tariffs have now come closer to those of other countries in the region, and the claim that electricity in Bangladesh costs only six to seven cents per unit is not accurate.
