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Nepra says Pakistan power woes stem from too much generation capacity
- 6 days ago (2025-01-01)
- David Flin
Pakistan’s National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) has said that excess generation capacity, persistent administrative and governance issues, and a lack of planning and under investment in technology have aggravated the difficulties of the power sector.
E-World 2025
In its State of Industry Report 2024, Nepra said that key issues were high electricity costs, systemic inefficiencies, and increasing circular debt, The generation capacity is currently underutilised, leading to high electricity costs in the country. By the end of the FY 2023-24, Pakistan’s installed power generation capacity was 45 888 MW, while the average annual utilisation over the same period was just 33.88 per cent. Generation cost forms 83 per cent of the overall consumer-end tariff, by far the largest cost component.
In addition, many issues including operational constraints in the transmission sector and governance issues in the distribution have hindered efficient use of the generation capacity.
Poor service quality, high electricity tariff and reduced affordability for consumers have stimulated rapid shift towards distributed generation, especially rooftop solar.
The report highlights a need for investment in grid and transmission line infrastructure to address inefficiencies in the transmission segment to ensure stable and affordable electricity supply.