During a National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Energy meeting, the Secretary of the Power Division stated that K-Electric predominantly produces expensive electricity from thermal power sources.
Despite these high costs, the government continues to subsidize K-Electric. In the session, K-Electric incurred a loss of Rs 30 billion, while Karachi’s electricity demand stands at 3,500 MW. Committee member Qamar-ul-Islam Raja highlighted that the government absorbs these financial losses through subsidies provided as tariff differentials, according to the CEO of K-Electric.
Dr. Tariq Fazal Chaudhry raised concerns about the effectiveness of K-Electric’s privatization model, noting its failure to deliver expected benefits. The Secretary confirmed that K-Electric’s entire output derives from thermal sources, which would lead to significantly higher costs without government subsidies.
The CEO of K-Electric also pointed out that producing electricity from LNG would cost Rs 40 per unit, further underscoring concerns regarding the privatization’s limited benefits, a point stressed by Qamar-ul-Islam Raja.
