ISLAMABAD: The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) and industrial leaders have strongly criticized the government’s new Incremental Electricity Package for industrial and agricultural consumers, calling it “discriminatory and more complex than ever,” warning it may fail to achieve its objectives.
During a public hearing on Tuesday, Nepra questioned whether stakeholders had been properly consulted, while industry representatives outright rejected the package. They urged the government to fix a flat rate of 9 cents per unit and reduce the load factor from 60 to 40 percent to ensure the scheme’s success.
“This is a discriminatory package—some will benefit and others will lose,” said Amir Sheikh, representing industrial consumers. “The previous package worked when the government offered a fixed 9-cent rate.”
The Power Division defended the plan, saying it was based on “lessons learned from the past” and aimed at boosting consumption to stabilize the grid and reduce capacity payments. Officials claimed the package could add Rs1.16 trillion to Pakistan’s GDP.
However, they also made startling revelations that all consumers in the country will pay Rs1.7 trillion in capacity charges in 2026 to power plants that are not generating a single unit—equivalent to Rs17 per unit.
Officials further disclosed that around 1,300 megawatts of consumers have already shifted off the national grid to solar, and that electricity demand in the agriculture sector has plunged by 40 to 50 percent due to off-grid solarization.
“Due to low demand, the grid stability is at stake,” one official said, adding that solar net metering has now exceeded 6,000 MW. “We want industry to run more shifts—it will reduce the capacity burden.”
The Power Division disclosed that industrial electricity consumption has fallen from 34 billion units in 2022 to 29.1 billion units in 2025, while agricultural power use dropped from 11 billion to 5.9 billion units over the past three years due to off-grid solarization.
Under the package, industrial and private agricultural consumers of XW-DISCOs and K-Electric will be charged Rs22.98 per unit on incremental consumption over the reference period (December 2023–November 2024). The three-year scheme is designed to be subsidy-neutral.
But the proposal’s complexity and conditionality drew further fire from business groups.
Rehan Javed of the FPCCI said the package was introduced without proper consultation with industry, suggesting that discounts should be based on the average consumption over the past three years instead of just 2023. “Electricity costs are already high, and the eligibility criteria are overly complicated.”
Textile industry representatives echoed the criticism. “No one can increase consumption more than 15 percent,” said APTMA’s Syed Absar Ali, adding that captive and wheeling consumers had been unfairly excluded.
Tanveer Barry from Karachi warned the plan was too confusing to survive. “This package has more issues than solutions. In its current form, it will not be successful,” he said.
