Concerted efforts afoot to reduce electricity price: energy minister

Minister for Power Division Sardar Awais Ahmad Khan Leghari said on Thursday the government is making concerted efforts to reduce the price of electricity by increasing anti-theft campaigns and reducing line losses, Radio Pakistan reported.

He made these remarks during a meeting of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Energy today in Islamabad.

Up to 200 units of consumption: PM Shehbaz announces Rs50bn power subsidy for 25mn households

The minister further apprised the Committee that a subsidy of Rs65 billion has been granted to the erstwhile FATA in the current budget.

In a related development, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced on Tuesday a Rs50-billion energy subsidy package for low-income households that consume less than 200 units of electricity.

The premier had earlier mentioned this number to be 94%, but later in the press conference used the figure of 92%.

Bid to raise subsidy for protected power users: Further cut in FY25 PSDP likely

Earlier, Business Recorder, citing its sources, had reported that the government is likely to further cut the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) 2024-25 to increase subsidies for the protected categories of domestic consumers due to massive overbilling across the country.

“This will be another cut in the PSDP 2024-25 after the Rs250 billion cut in the total PSDP of Rs1.4 trillion meant to create fiscal space to give relief to the most affected people without compromising the deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF),” the report from Business Recorder added.