Federal Minister for Power Sardar Awais Ahmad Khan Leghari on Thursday said that a new tariff policy is expected to be announced soon by the Prime Minister to make industries more competitive.
Addressing at a Princeton Energy Workshop here, the minister highlighted recent reforms, future plans, and the ongoing shift towards decentralized and renewable energy systems in the country.
Sardar Awais said the government was making all out efforts to provide relief to consumers and it has implemented significant reforms in the power sector over the past year. Industrial electricity tariffs have been reduced by 30%, providing relief to businesses. Efforts are underway to lower power prices sustainably, he added.
Leghari noted that Pakistan is not waiting for a renewable energy revolution-it is already happening. He called solar energy an effective option, with more solar generation being added to the grid.
He pointed out that large parts of the agriculture sector and segments of industry have already moved to solar power. Official data shows that nearly 6,000 megawatts of solar capacity is installed, with more in the pipeline. The shift away from traditional grid power has contributed to a drop in national electricity demand over the past three years.
Solar power generation has risen, and 27,000 agricultural tube wells in Balochistan will be converted to solar energy within the next few months. The government has also shut down 3,000 megawatts of furnace oil-based power plants in the past few months, the minister said.
He further said that the government is working toward a long-term reduction in electricity costs and this effort is backed by policy decisions and research carried out over the last year. One of the central goals is to reduce the government’s role in buying electricity and to make the system more market-driven.
Sardar Awais said the government was also revisiting contracts with Independent Power Producers (IPPs), which had helped bring down power prices. He mentioned that reforms in the transmission system were ongoing. However, the system lacks the tools to monitor pressure on transformers and feeders in real time. Upgrades in this area are part of the long-term plan.
Leghari said steps are being taken to minimize the environmental impact of coal and gas power plants. In the next three years, enough electricity will be available through the national grid to meet demand, he added.
The inclusion of the Bhasha Dam in the national grid will be a key step in expanding the energy supply, added that reforms are being planned to ensure that poor planning does not affect consumers and that electricity is made available and usable for everyone.
The minister mentioned that the government was also working on privatizing power distribution companies. He said decrease in their losses is encouraging.