Power tariff for 200 units to go: New targeted subsidy system being worked out: Leghari

ISLAMABAD: The federal government is working on replacing the existing power tariff system, which allows excessive billing for consumers whose power tariff exceeds 200 units, with a new targeted subsidy system to facilitate the deserving power consumers.

Power Minister Awais Leghari informed this to the Upper House of the Parliament on Tuesday.

“Speedy progress is being made to replace the system which excessively charges the power consumers for the next six months if they consume even one unit more than 200 units,” he said, responding to a calling attention notice moved by Abid Sher Ali from Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N).

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The senator, through the calling attention notice, drew the power minister’s attention “towards the slab-based incremental electricity tariff and billing practices of DISCOs, which impose an excessive financial burden on consumers.”

Leghari said that “numerous undeserving, financially stable people” were benefitting from the 200 units’ slab system that is in place for protected consumers.

“The existing system allows concessions to power consumers using up to 200 electricity units. But numerous undeserving, financially stable people, who have installed solar systems—they consume less than 200 units from grid—and get benefit from this system,” he said.

Leghari said the number of consumers using up to 200 units monthly has reached 20 million, most of whom are using solar systems.

“It would not be fair to give a uniform discount to all the consumers using up to 200 electricity units—because this category also includes those people who do not deserve this relief at all,” he said.

The minister added that the government is working on introducing a system of targeted subsidy in the power sector; to allow only the deserving consumers to benefit from the 200 units subsidised tariff slab. He indicated that blanket relief for all the consumers would be abolished.

The option of increasing the subsidised slab threshold from 200 units to 250 units is also under consideration, he added.

Earlier, speaking on his calling attention notice, Ali said that the existing power tariff slab system is “unjustified and extremely cruel.”

“If the monthly power consumption of a power consumer exceeds even by one unit—from 200 units to 201 units, the power tariff increases from 15 rupees to 30 rupees per unit—due to which a poor power consumer has to pay the bill of 400 units—this is such an unjustified and extremely cruel system,” he said.

Earlier, Deputy Prime Minister and Leader of the House in the Senate Ishaq Dar informed the House in the question hour that Pakistan joined the World AI Cooperation Organisation, a China-led initiative aimed at promoting transparency, openness and cooperation in artificial intelligence.

The Senate is adjourned till Thursday.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026