Pakistan's Power Minister Awais Leghari has said the government is working to end a rule under which households that use even one unit more than 200 in a month are billed at higher rates for six months. He told the Senate that raising the threshold from 200 to 250 units is under consideration.
The issue was raised through a calling-attention notice by PML-N Senator Abid Sher Ali, who asked how a consumer using 201 units could be charged at the rate of the 400-unit slab, arguing that the system puts an extra burden on low-income families.
Leghari said around 20 million consumers now use fewer than 200 units a month. But he said it would not be right to extend discounts to everyone in that group, since many homes have solar systems that reduce their reliance on the grid. Relief would instead be focused on consumers living below the poverty line, he said.
Speaking separately at the National Energy Summit 2026 in Islamabad, the minister said a competitive electricity market had been introduced and the government would not buy additional power. Consumers with a load of up to one megawatt will be able to buy electricity directly, about 400MW will move to the transmission grid through the new market in the coming months, and wheeling charges have been cut from Rs28 to about Rs11-12 per unit, he said.
If approved, the change could spare millions of households the fear of six months of higher bills over a single unit, though the government has not yet announced a final decision or a date.