During a recent session of the Senate Standing Committee on Power, it was disclosed that approximately 190,000 employees within the power sector benefit from free electricity, amounting to an annual cost of Rs15 billion.
This significant expense includes Rs1.3 billion in monthly allocations, with each employee receiving an average of Rs78,000 worth of free electricity each year.
The Power Division Secretary clarified that this benefit is reserved for employees of electricity companies, WAPDA, and GENCOs, addressing concerns raised during the meeting.
Moreover, Chaired by Senator Mohsin Aziz, the committee also discussed the decline in the power sector’s installed generation capacity. The current capacity stands at 39,000 MW, down from 42,000 MW due to the decommissioning of outdated power plants.
Additionally, five more plants, with a combined capacity of 2,500 MW, are slated for retirement.
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In addition, federal Minister for Power, Awais Leghari, informed the committee about the development of a winter electricity package, which includes an annual incentive package. He attributed the high electricity costs for K-Electric to expensive production sources and elaborated on the ongoing challenges with independent power producers (IPPs).
Leghari further highlighted that K-Electric’s elevated generation costs have compelled the government to draw power from the national grid and provide a substantial Rs170 billion subsidy to maintain consistent tariffs across the country.
