Federal Minister for Power Division Awais Leghari has said the government is working to end a practice that charges electricity consumers higher rates for six months if their monthly use exceeds 200 units, even by a single unit.
Responding to a calling-attention notice in the Senate, Leghari said the government is considering raising the threshold from 200 to 250 units. The issue was raised by PML-N Senator Abid Sher Ali, who questioned how a household using 201 units could be billed at the rate for the 400-unit slab, arguing that the system placed an extra burden on low-income families.
Relief limited to households below the poverty line
Leghari said about 20 million consumers use fewer than 200 units. He argued that extending discounts to all of them would not be appropriate, because some households have solar power systems that reduce their reliance on the grid. Instead, the government would focus relief on consumers living below the poverty line, he added.
Also read: Power Division bars manual detection bills for DISCOs
Competitive power market and lower wheeling charges
Addressing the National Energy Summit 2026 in Islamabad, Leghari outlined broader power sector reforms. He said a competitive electricity market had been introduced and the government would not buy additional electricity. Consumers with a capacity of up to one megawatt will be able to buy power directly, and the first request for proposals for the competitive market has been issued, he said.
The minister said around 400 megawatts would be moved to the transmission grid through the competitive mechanism in the coming months. He added that wheeling charges had fallen from Rs28 to approximately Rs11-12 per unit.
