The government should announce a reduction in RS8 electricity prices per unit, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is expected to make the official announcement on March 23 after the approval of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Express News reported.
According to sources, the Ministry of Finance and the Energy Division explores additional measures to further reduce RS2 electricity rates per unit. A final decision will be made before the announcement.
The reduction, as of April 1, 2025, will reflect consumption bills from May. On the reduction of RS8 per unit, RS4.73 per unit will be a permanent adjustment.
The price adjustment results from several measures, including the cancellation of agreements with six independent electricity producers (PPI), revising contracts with 16 IPPS under a “statement” model, changing the currency of the electrical power plants from the American dollar to Pakistani rupees, and reducing the return to balance (ROE) for government plants (GPPS).
Officials have noted that tariffs’ reduction calculations also explain the impact of the drop in oil prices on the world market since March 16, 2025. Maintaining current oil prices should allow around 168 billion rupees, which allows a reduction in RS1.30 per unit per unit of power prices.
The IMF has agreed to approve this recovery, recognizing the government’s decision to freeze oil prices for three months. If international oil prices are still falling, the financial impact could reach 250 billion rupees. However, the RS1.30 per rescue unit will only be available for a month.
The government aims to make RS6 per unit reduction of RS8 a permanent adjustment. In addition, sources indicate that PTV RS35 costs included in electricity bills can be deleted from July 2025.
For the budget for the financial year 2026, the government plans to allocate funds to maintain PTV operations without relying on the collections of electricity bills.