PM to announce Rs8 per unit power tariff reduction on Mar 23

• Government reduces power tariff by Rs8 per unit from April.
• Rs4.73 per unit cut stays permanent due to revised energy policies.
• Rs1.30 per unit relief lasts one month from fuel price savings.
  

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will reportedly reduce the electricity tariff by Rs8 per unit on March 23, following approval from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The revised rates will take effect from April 1, 2025, with consumers expected to see lower bills starting in May, The News reported on Wednesday. 

“However, out of Rs8 per unit, Rs4.73 per unit reduction in tariff will continue on a permanent basis as a result of scrapping agreements with six IPPs, revising power purchase agreements (PPAs) of 16 IPPs on take and pay mode, delinking bagasse power plants from US dollar and lining them with Pak rupee and scaling down the RoE (Return and Equity) of government power plants (GPPs) to 13% based on Pak rupee and fixing the value of US dollar at Rs168,” senior officials told The News.

“We are going to include in the power tariff reduction the impact of not decreasing the petroleum products prices that went down in the international market, which was due from March 16, 2025. The impact of not decreasing the POL prices has been estimated at Rs168 billion which will be utilized in reducing the power tariff by Rs1.30 per unit. 

The IMF has given its nod to the government’s top functionaries for providing a relief after not decreasing the POL prices for three months, by up to the impact of Rs250 billion in case POL prices continue to dwindle in the international market. 

However, Rs1.30 per unit relief in power tariff, because of not decreasing the POL prices from March 16, 2025, would be for one month, meaning that Rs1.30 per unit relief would be short-lived.

Earlier this month, PM Shehbaz Sharif decided to keep petroleum product prices unchanged for the next fortnight and divert the relief from a decrease in petrol prices in the international market towards a notable downward revision in the power tariff for the masses.

The federal government aims to maintain petroleum product prices and transfer the full financial benefit to the masses through power tariff, the PM Office said in a statement on March 15.

The move will be one of many steps taken by the government to achieve a meaningful reduction in the electricity rates, the premier said.

A package was being prepared under a comprehensive and effective strategy to slash power prices, PM Shehbaz said, adding that the details of the relief measure for the public were being finalised by utilising the financial space created due to fluctuations in global oil prices.

The PM will address the nation to announce the major relief measure.