LAHORE: Federal Minister for Power Awais Leghari on Monday assured the government will reduce power costs so that common people can charge their batteries during the day from the excess produced and use the energy at night, an approach which reflects a major change in Pakistan’s power policy.
While addressing a power conference at a private university in Lahore through video link, he presented an impressive reform plan based on restructuring of independent power producers (IPPs), implementation of smart meters, and ultimately the privatization of power distribution companies.
IPP Era Declared Over
In one of his sharpest statements to date on the subject, Leghari declared that the government had definitively closed the chapter on the IPP-driven power model that burdened consumers with capacity payments for years.
“We have buried the IPPs for the future,” Leghari said, adding that the government had already exited the IPP business and halted plans to commission an additional 10,000 megawatts through the same framework. The minister stressed that halting these planned additions would shield consumers from further capacity charge accumulation the single largest driver of Pakistan’s circular debt crisis.
Differential Tariffs for Industrial and Agricultural Sectors
According to Leghari, the government intends to formulate different tariffs for electricity consumption by industries and agriculture. This decision was long recommended by economists and industry leaders because it is expected to make exports competitive again.
Under this plan, consumers from industrial categories B3 and B4 will get electricity 6-7 rupees cheaper per unit during day time. The minister framed this as a direct incentive to shift industrial load toward peak solar generation windows, reducing pressure on the national grid and lowering the overall cost of supply.
Smart Meters: Private Sector to Lead
In terms of metering, Leghari advised the private companies to step forward and install smart meters themselves without depending on the government’s purchasing process. The reason behind this recommendation was that the government had already started making savings through the smart purchase of meters. The minister also addressed a persistent consumer grievance billing on defective meters. His firm announcement was that no faulty meter shall be left in service for more than three months, thereby making sure that consumers are not overcharged because of faulty meters.
This was among the important structural indicators of the IMF program in Pakistan, and the statement of the minister implies that it is still proceeding as per schedule.
Battery Storage: The Long-Term Vision
The minister’s most remarkable promise pertained to the cost of electricity produced using solar power. According to Leghari, costs of producing electricity during daylight would plummet so much that it would become financially feasible for consumers – households and businesses alike – to store excess electricity in batteries and consume it at night when solar power production is minimal.
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This concept seems highly relevant in view of declining worldwide prices of battery storage, along with the abundance of solar energy availability in Pakistan, especially in Punjab and Sindh provinces.
Leghari acknowledged that energy sector reforms carry enormous national importance, describing the current moment as a window of opportunity. He said the government was offering space for private participation across the value chain from smart metering to power generation as part of a broader effort to restructure a sector that has long acted as a drag on Pakistan’s economic competitiveness.
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