KE investing Rs15bn to improve power infrastructure: Chishti

KARACHI: K-Electric Board Chairman Shaheryar Chishti has said the company is investing Rs 15 billion to improve the power infrastructure and ensure reliable and uninterrupted electricity supply to Karachi’s industrial sector.

The investment will include laying new cables and wires, upgrading grids, bifurcating feeders and undertaking other infrastructure improvement measures.

He said industry is the backbone of Karachi’s economy and employment, adding that if industries do not operate, neither employment nor the city’s economic activity can continue.

He expressed these views while speaking to industrialists during his visit to the Korangi Association of Trade and Industry (KATI).

Before the meeting, prayers were offered for the innocent children martyred in the PIMS tragedy. Shaheryar Chishti said Karachi has tremendous economic and industrial potential and that industrialists are among K-Electric’s best customers.

He said the company was making efforts to further improve the quality of electricity transmission and services.

He said K-Electric’s strategy was not limited to power generation but focused on strengthening the entire generation, transmission and distribution system to provide consumers with more reliable electricity.

He added that K-Electric was maintaining engagement with all industrial associations, including Korangi, SITE and Bin Qasim, to understand industrialists’ problems and find solutions.

According to Chishti, measures are being taken to ensure uninterrupted electricity supply to Karachi’s citizens.

K-Electric’s network currently comprises more than 2,100 feeders, of which over 70 percent are exempt from load shedding. He said there had been no load shedding for industrial consumers since 2013.

KATI President Muhammad Ikram Rajput said Pakistan’s industrial sector was under severe pressure due to the country’s high electricity and energy costs.

The continuous increase in production costs had made it increasingly difficult for Pakistani products to remain competitive in regional and international markets.

He said energy prices had become a major component of industrial costs, meaning even a small increase in electricity tariffs directly affected production costs and export competitiveness.

Rajput said Pakistani industry faced higher production costs compared with other countries in the region, while fuel charges, various surcharges and other additional costs in electricity bills were further increasing the difficulties faced by industrialists.

He urged the government to review electricity tariffs for industrial consumers and reconsider all additional charges that were adversely affecting production.

The KATI president said industrialists were also burdened by heavy capacity payments in addition to high electricity prices. Payments for electricity capacity that remained unused had become a major problem for both the economy and industry.

He warned that without structural reforms in the energy sector and a reduction in electricity costs, it would become increasingly difficult for local industry to compete in international markets.

He said the government and power distribution companies should consult industrialists to develop a viable system under which industry could receive electricity at competitive rates, enjoy stable energy supplies and avoid unnecessary financial burdens.

He welcomed K-Electric’s announcement of investment in industrial infrastructure and stressed that the benefits should reach industrial consumers in practical terms.

KATI Deputy Patron-in-Chief Zubair Chhaya said that the problems facing industries are not limited to electricity supply alone; rather, expensive energy has affected the very foundation of the entire industrial production system.

He said delays in the disbursement of government-announced subsidies and other financial support for industry are also adding to the difficulties faced by industrialists.

When industrialists are regularly paying electricity bills and other essential expenses, but government payments of subsidies due to them are delayed, it adversely affects the cash flow of industrial units and their production activities.

Zubair Chhaya said the energy sector requires long-term planning. The issue cannot be resolved through temporary relief or subsidies alone; instead, fundamental problems including the cost of power generation, capacity payments, transmission losses and other structural issues must be addressed on a permanent basis.

He said that if industries are provided with reliable electricity at affordable rates, it will help attract new investment and increase employment and exports.

Speaking to industrialists, K-Electric CEO Syed Muhammad Taha said new technologies, feeders and modern systems were being introduced to address electricity-related problems in industrial areas.

He said some industrial areas were facing power-quality issues because of residential settlements in and around these areas. These problems would be addressed through new feeders and modern infrastructure.

He said work was also under way to gradually transform Karachi’s power system into a smart grid through smart metering and other modern technologies.

Taha said K-Electric remained in continuous contact with industrialists and was addressing their electricity supply and service-related complaints on a priority basis.

He clarified that tariff changes were not within K-Electric’s authority, although the company was working with relevant institutions to help resolve the issues.

He urged consumers to pay their electricity bills on time and cooperate with K-Electric in identifying cases of electricity theft.

Chairman of the Standing Committee Danish Khan said Pakistan should make full use of alternative sources of power generation, particularly renewable energy such as solar and wind, to help reduce electricity costs. Danish Khan said electricity is being supplied at around 8 cents per unit in other countries in the region, whereas in Pakistan it costs around 14 cents per unit, making it impossible for Pakistani industries to compete in international export markets. He said industrialists are demanding that the electricity tariff be reduced to 9 cents per unit to put the country on a path toward economic stability.

Standing Committee Vice Chairman Rehan Javed said direct and continuous communication between industrialists and K-Electric is extremely important for the prompt resolution of electricity-related issues.

He welcomed K-Electric’s announcement of a Rs 15 billion investment, saying that regular consultation between industry and K-Electric could help resolve issues relating to power supply, services and power quality more effectively.

Rehan Javed further said that every unit of electricity in Pakistan carries not only the cost of energy for consumers but also a debt burden of Rs20.56. Of this amount, Rs17.33 per unit is included as capacity payment, which is paid even to power plants that may not be generating electricity at the time, while Rs3.23 per unit is being recovered from consumers as the PHL surcharge to recoup the costs arising from past government failures.

He said this burden is already being imposed on consumers even before fuel costs, taxes and electricity transmission charges are added.

K-Electric CEO Syed Muhammad Taha, KATI President Muhammad Ikram Rajput, Deputy Patron-in-Chief Zubair Chhaya, Chairman Standing Committee Danish Khan, Vice Chairman Standing Committee Rehan Javed, Senior Vice President Zahid Hameed, Vice President Muhammad Talha Ali, KITE CEO Saleem-uz-Zaman, former KATI presidents Sheikh Umer Rehan, Rashid Siddiqui, Syed Farrukh Mazhar, Ihteshamuddin and Junaid Naqi, K-Electric’s Chief Distribution Officer Ali Kamal, Chief of Staff Adnan Fazal, HOD Khurram Abdullah, along along with other industrialists and members attended the meeting.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026