Business Desk 
Jul 01, 2025
Technicians are silhouetted as they fix cables on a power transmission line in Karachi, Pakistan January 9, 2017. — Reuters
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif-led government has officially announced to remove provincial electricity duty on power bills, effective from July 1, and formally informed all provincial chief ministers of the decision.
Notably, Federal Minister for Energy Awais Leghari has written a letter to the chief ministers of all provinces, informing them of the federal government's decision to scrap electricity duty and explore "alternative mechanisms" for collecting provincial levies and duties.
Leghari stated that “high electricity tariffs are already a significant challenge,” and the additional burden of different levies further complicates the billing structure, making it difficult for consumers to understand and tackle their electricity costs.
In his letter, Leghari, highlighted the federal government's efforts regarding various measures to reduce power tariffs, including renegotiating Independent Power Producer (IPP) contracts, lowering the Return on Equity (ROE) for government-owned power plants, and implementing other structural reforms.
The minister suggested that provincial governments explore alternative mechanisms for collecting provincial levies and duties, rather than depending on electricity bills as a collection channel.
"In parallel, we are also committed to simplifying electricity bills so that they primarily reflect the actual cost of power consumption rather than serving as a collection mechanism for various additional charges," he added.
With this move, Leghari notes that it will not only make electricity bills more transparent and simpler to comprehend but also ensure that "consumers are paying only for the cost of electricity, rather than a mix of other charges".
He also sought the cooperation of all chief ministers in identifying and implementing alternative revenue collection methods that will be instrumental in making this initiative a success.
