Burdened by the power bill

A Dawn commentary argues that electricity is expensive mainly because the system was planned around demand that failed to appear, and because contracts make consumers pay whether or not power is drawn. In FY24 Pakistan had 46,600 MW of installed capacity yet ran at roughly a third of that level, with peak demand rarely above 35,000 MW. Between 2013 and 2024 capacity climbed 64 per cent, an expansion based on hopes of a manufacturing boom that did not fully materialise.

Fixed payments tied to the dollar became heavier as the rupee's value fell by more than 60pc. Consumers paid Rs46 billion in FY24 to two plants that produced no electricity at all, and at Rousch Power the fixed charge alone exceeded Rs700 per unit. Government estimates put close to Rs159bn of costs onto grid-connected households in a single year, as many users turned to rooftop solar panels.

Factories pay 13 to 15 cents per unit, roughly double the rates in India, Bangladesh or Vietnam. According to the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association, more than 140 mills have closed nationwide, most of them in Punjab. Reforms since late 2023 ended contracts with six ageing plants, renegotiated 14 more, and reduced circular debt by Rs780bn in a year, yet the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry says industrial bills still reach Rs34 or Rs35 against a promised Rs22.98 per unit.