Industrial electricity tariffs: PTEA demands rectification

ISLAMABAD: Khurram Mukhtar, Patron in Chief of the Pakistan Textile Exporters Association (PTEA), and Chairman Sohail Pasha has urged the Federal Government and NEPRA to immediately rectify the long standing anomaly in industrial electricity tariffs.

He stated that B3 and B4 industrial consumers are paying around Rs4 per kWh above their actual cost of service, an unjustified burden of nearly Rs55 billion annually on Pakistan’s productive sector.

He said the anomaly is technically indefensible, as consumers connected at higher voltages require significantly lower transmission and distribution infrastructure and should therefore warrant lower tariffs.

Instead, B3 and B4 consumers continue to bear an excessive cross subsidy, while B4 consumers are even being charged for distribution costs despite not utilising the distribution network.

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Khurram Mukhtar noted that although B3 and B4 consumers account for only about 1.2 percent of industrial electricity connections, they consume 62 percent of total industrial electricity, making this tariff distortion a major impediment to industrial competitiveness and export growth.

He urged the government to uphold the principle of equity by implementing a genuine cost of service tariff framework and eliminating this anomaly without further delay.

Khurram Mukhtar further stated that Pakistan’s textile exporters are fully committed to surpassing the export target set by the Government.

He emphasised that timely corrective measures, including the removal of unjustified tariff distortions, would significantly enhance competitiveness, encourage fresh investment, create employment, and accelerate export growth.

“If productive sectors are treated fairly and in accordance with the principle of equity, exporters will deliver beyond expectations and play their full role in strengthening Pakistan’s economy,” he concluded.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026