Year: 2025

ISLAMABAD: The All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) has urged the Power Division to revisit the existing peak hours regime to better align it with the actual power demand patterns across the national grid, warning that the current system is leading to massive underutilization of available capacity. In a letter addressed to Federal Minister for Power, Sardar Awais Ahmad Khan Leghari, APTMA Secretary General Shahid Sattar highlighted that the demand profile of distribution companies (Discos) and K-Electric over the past year indicates a consistent shift in peak demand toward midnight,…

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ISLAMABAD: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has raised serious concerns over Pakistan’s struggling power sector, revealing that weak governance, lack of transparency, and outdated regulatory frameworks continue to cripple the performance of distribution companies (Discos) — despite repeated reform claims by the Power Division. According to sources in the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the ADB’s findings were shared during a recent mission visit, where the bank underscored how chronic inefficiencies, mounting losses, and governance lapses have left Discos unable to secure commercial financing, forcing them to depend on limited public…

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ISLAMABAD: Thousands of solar power consumers in Islamabad have expressed outrage after receiving electricity bills instructing them to replace their existing green meters with Automatic Meter Reading (AMR) devices within three months — or risk losing access to net metering. Under the new directive, consumers with on-grid solar systems are being asked to purchase AMR meters at a cost of Rs52,000 each, while their previously installed green meters — which they had already paid for — will be taken back by the Islamabad Electric Supply Company (Iesco). Many consumers, who…

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ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has received the inquiry report into alleged irregularities in the Rs170 billion Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (Carec) Tranche-III project, with an official decision expected within the week. According to sources in the Prime Minister’s Office, the findings were submitted to the premier in a sealed envelope, and he is likely to decide the fate of the probe “within a day or so.” In August, the prime minister had suspended eight senior National Highway Authority (NHA) officials and constituted a committee to investigate serious procedural…

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ISLAMABAD: In a major development for Pakistan’s energy sector, the government has received 23 bids for 40 offshore exploration blocks — the first such response in 18 years — marking renewed investor interest in the country’s offshore hydrocarbon potential. According to an official statement by the Petroleum Division, bids were received for 23 offshore blocks, covering an area of about 53,510 square kilometres. Among the bidders are leading national energy companies, including the Oil and Gas Development Company Ltd (OGDCL), Pakistan Petroleum Ltd (PPL), Mari Energies Ltd (MEL), and Prime…

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