Employees of the electricity sector receive RS6,000 free electricity every month, the Minister of Energy, Awais Leghari on Wednesday, while the Government explores the legal routes to end the privilege.
Speaking to journalists in Islamabad, Leghari declared that the government currently cannot stop free electricity for the employees of the Energy Division and the generation of the company due to current legal cases.
“We have approached the Office of the Attorney General to accelerate the resolution of these cases so that we can end free electricity,” he said.
Leghari proposed to increase wages as a replacement for free energy benefits and pointed out that the government is working on strategies to provide surplus electricity to lower rates.
Discussing the net solar measurement, the minister warned that he has imposed an additional load of RS103 billion to regular consumers.
“As solarization increases, financial tension in common consumers grows, since we are forced to buy expensive electricity through net measurement,” he explained.
The government, he added, aims to ensure that net measurement investors recover their costs within four years while managing the impact on general consumers.
Government to auction the surplus of electricity to industries
On Tuesday, Leghari announced the government plan to auction the surplus of electricity to the industries. This initiative, aimed at stimulating industrial growth and the creation of employment opportunities, detailed in a press release from the Ministry of Energy on Tuesday.
According to the statement, Leghari emphasized that surplus electricity would be competitively available to maximize the benefits for the economy and industrial sector.
The minister also highlighted the National Policy of Electric Vehicles (EV), which seeks to promote the adoption of electric vehicles throughout Pakistan.
He said that electric tariffs for EV load stations had been significantly reduced to make EVs more affordable and accessible.
This step, he said, aligns with the vision of the government to promote sustainable energy solutions and reduce the environmental impact.
