Announcement made to abolish the formula for additional charges on the consumption of 201 units of electricity
Published 4 hours ago | By Nouman Shakeel
Federal Minister for Energy Awais Leghari has announced the suspension—for a period of six months—of the current formula that imposes additional charges on consumers whose electricity consumption exceeds the 200-unit threshold. He stated that the government is formulating a new policy aimed at improving the relief mechanism for electricity bills.
Addressing a Senate session, Awais Leghari explained that preparations are underway to abolish the formula that triggers additional charges once consumption reaches 201 units. According to him, the current system disproportionately benefits wealthier consumers over the poorer segments of society; hence, the government is working expeditiously on a new policy.
The Energy Minister informed the session that the circular debt in the energy sector has decreased to 1,670 billion rupees. The government’s objective is to eliminate circular debt entirely within the next four years, at which point the debt-servicing surcharge currently applied to this debt will also be removed.
He further noted that when the current government took office, the Ministry of Energy was receiving 1,180 billion rupees in budgetary support; this figure has dropped to 700 billion rupees this year. He added that the losses incurred by electricity distribution companies (DISCOs) have been reduced annually, though the benefits of these reductions have yet to reach the consumers.
During the session, Senator Abid Sher Ali raised concerns regarding electricity tariffs and the challenges faced by consumers. He emphasized that electricity rates affect millions of people across the country, noting that even for "protected" (subsidized/low-consumption) consumers, paying electricity bills is becoming increasingly difficult.
He pointed out that exceeding the 200-unit limit by even a single additional unit can cause an electricity bill to suddenly double. Abid Sher Ali also raised the question of whether the burden of losses incurred by DISCOs (electricity distribution companies) due to electricity theft is being passed on to poor consumers.
In response, Awais Leghari stated that determining electricity tariff slabs is essential to addressing this issue in the future. According to him, the number of consumers using up to 200 units of electricity has reached 20 million; notably, a large portion of consumers in this category also utilize solar energy.
The Energy Minister explained that the government is currently working on a system to provide relief to consumers based on their poverty status, rather than relying solely on the number of electricity units consumed.
