ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s business community remains unconvinced by the government’s recent energy tariff incentives, despite claims that over 127,000 industrial consumers benefited during the first two months of the scheme.
The three-year incremental package offers a Rs4.04 per unit reduction for industry and shifts the base tariff from the fiscal year cycle to the calendar year cycle starting January 1, 2026. However, industry representatives argue that the relief largely bypassed active sectors, particularly larger B3 and B4 category consumers, while smaller units and non-operational industries captured most of the benefits.
Industrial stakeholders also noted that rising fuel costs due to calendar-year adjustments and quarterly revisions effectively nullified the Rs4.04 per unit cut. The Power Division reportedly counted the shift of industrial captive power plants from natural gas to the grid as part of the incremental package’s success — a move the industry contends does not reflect meaningful relief.
The Power Division released data for December 2025 and January 2026, showing that 127,686 industrial consumers — 46 per cent of the total 278,961 — received cumulative financial relief of Rs12.125 billion. During this period, 1,176 million units of electricity were sold under the surplus package, representing nearly 24 per cent of total industrial consumption.
The division highlighted that the benefit translated to Rs5.743 billion in December for 125,829 consumers and Rs6.382 billion in January for 127,686 consumers. It also noted that Power Minister Sardar Awais Ahmad Khan Leghari has been personally overseeing the program through regular progress reviews.
Despite these figures, the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) expressed concerns over the practical impact. President Atif Ikram Shaikh pointed out that January’s fuel cost adjustment (FCA) added Rs1.78 per unit, with a further Rs0.40 expected from the quarterly adjustment. This reduced the effective benefit of the Rs4.04 cut to around Rs1.70–1.80 per unit.
Shaikh also criticised frequent tariff rebasing — undertaken in July 2025 and January 2026 — for creating volatility and undermining planning certainty. Exporters, who had already adjusted international pricing, secured forward contracts, and deployed working capital based on expectations of sustained relief, now face increased uncertainty.
The FPCCI warned that unless these structural issues are addressed, the announced energy tariff cuts would fail to restore industrial competitiveness and export viability.