K-Electric producing costliest electricity in country, NA committee told

Officials warn subsidy removal could push prices to Rs80 per unit

Officials from the Power Division informed the National Assembly's Standing Committee on Energy on Friday that K-Electric is producing the most expensive electricity in the country. 

If the government ceases to provide subsidies, the cost per unit could escalate to Rs80, they added.

During a briefing to the committee, the energy secretary highlighted that K-Electric’s electricity generation is predominantly thermal-based, making it the costliest in Pakistan. 

K-Electric CEO Monis Alvi stated that if the company switched to LNG for power generation, the cost would still be around Rs40 per unit. He noted that when K-Electric was privatised, the company’s losses were at 40%, whereas today, these losses have been reduced to 15%.

Meanwhile, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf MNA Iqbal Afridi objected to the attire of a K-Electric female official, deeming it inappropriate for the meeting. 

He suggested that there should be a standard operating procedure regarding the dress code for female participants in such meetings. In response, the committee’s chairman apologised to Afridi for the incident.