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Former caretaker federal minister for commerce and industry Dr Gohar Ejaz has opened a fresh front on the power sector, warning that Pakistan is bleeding billions due to expensive wind and coal power agreements that the government has failed to renegotiate.
In a sharp critique, the Chairman of the Economic Policy & Business Development Committee said the nation continues to pay the price for “unrealistic and costly” alternative energy contracts while cheaper thermal power plants remain grossly underutilized.
Dr Ejaz said consumers are still being billed at brutally high rates, with wind and solar tariffs ranging from Rs20 to Rs47 per unit, whereas thermal plants could produce electricity at a much lower Rs11 to Rs18 per unit. Yet, he added, power generation from thermal sources has been cut to a bare minimum.
He stressed that the huge tariff gap between wind and thermal plants is draining the national economy, adding that “expensive renewable contracts are generating costly electricity while cheaper power plants are barely producing.”
Dr Ejaz criticised the government for not reopening talks with operators of costly wind and coal power plants, saying “the entire nation is paying for these expensive commitments” while no corrective action is being taken.
Calling the current tariff structure “distorted and economically irrational,” he said industries are being crushed under cross-subsidies created by flawed pricing mechanisms. “Political compromises are overshadowing economic realities,” he warned.
He urged the government to immediately initiate renegotiations with costly power producers and issue a tariff structure strictly based on economic merit. “Because of government negligence, industries are shutting down and Pakistan’s economic growth is stuck,” Dr Ejaz added.
