December, January and February Expected to Be the Most Difficult Months for Electricity Consumers

ISLAMABAD: Electricity consumers in Pakistan are likely to face particularly difficult months in December, January and February, as fuel price adjustments are expected to increase two to three times during the winter period.

According to sources in the Power Division, electricity costs could rise significantly over the next three months due to increasing international fuel prices and challenges in securing adequate supplies of local gas for power generation.

Sources said that rising prices of liquefied natural gas (LNG), coal and other fuels were making electricity generation increasingly expensive.

They added that the availability of local gas for power plants would also become a major challenge during winter. Domestic gas supplies are already insufficient to meet the requirements of household consumers during the colder months, further limiting the availability of gas for electricity generation.

Meanwhile, reduced hydropower generation during winter is expected to force power plants to rely more heavily on expensive fuels, increasing the overall cost of electricity production.

According to sources, elevated fuel prices in the international market will also push fuel price adjustments higher, adding to the financial burden on electricity consumers.

They said that authorities had made extensive efforts in recent months to keep the fuel price adjustment burden under control, including implementing power load management of up to two hours.

However, sources warned that international fuel prices, particularly LNG, had now risen considerably, making it increasingly difficult to contain electricity generation costs.

As a result, consumers could face substantially higher electricity bills during December, January and February.