Govt mulls incentives to boost industrial power demand

Amid the request for a 25 per cent increase in annual tariff rebasing, the government on Thursday hinted at offering an incentive package to the industrial sector as part of other power sector reform interventions to revive electricity demand and support economic growth. This emerged at a public hearing, presided over by National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) Chairman Waseem Mukhtar, when representatives from various industrial and consumer groups, mostly from Karachi, bewailed the proposed further tariff hike, saying they were already on a shutdown path. The hearing was held on 25pc increase in power purchase price (PPP) for national electricity tariff rebasing effective from July 1, 2025 to secure revenue requirement of about Rs4 trillion in FY25 for power companies.