Power demand rebounds 7.1% in July

Pakistan's power demand recovered strongly in July 2026, according to sector data reported by The Express Tribune. Demand climbed 7.1 per cent from a year earlier to 15,122 gigawatt hours (GWh), which was 2.3 per cent above the seven-year July average. Although it remains short of the July 2021 peak of 15,678 GWh, an Arif Habib Limited report views the increase as a sign of improving economic activity and a positive for the power sector.

Output ran above the reference level set by Nepra, helped by cheaper industrial tariffs, more industrial consumers moving onto the national grid, and incremental packages for industry and agriculture. The cost of generation, however, rose sharply: the fuel cost per unit, after adjustment, stood at Rs9.61 against a reference of Rs7.09, and distribution companies have asked for a fuel cost adjustment of Rs2.52 per unit for July. Heavier use of costly RLNG and furnace oil, including spot LNG cargoes, drove the increase amid elevated oil prices.

Generation from LNG fell 33.2 per cent from a year earlier to 1,629 GWh, as disruptions hit long-term cargo deliveries. RLNG fuel cost set a record at Rs47.38 per unit, but hydel output hit a record 6,019 GWh in July. Coal-fired generation rose 44 per cent to 3,819 GWh, exceeding every previous July. Nepra expects demand to grow 1 per cent in calendar 2026.