ISLAMABAD: Former Managing Director of PEPCO and energy expert Tahir Basharat Cheema has said that the country’s persistently high electricity costs are the main driver of inflation in Pakistan.
Speaking to Geo News, he stated that expensive power tariffs have pushed the economy to a critical point, adding that electricity prices remain the fundamental cause of rising inflation across the country.
Cheema said that high electricity costs are largely the result of unfavourable agreements with Independent Power Producers (IPPs), which continue to burden the national power sector.
He stressed the need for urgent reforms, including the removal of fixed charges and unnecessary taxes embedded in electricity bills, to provide relief to consumers and improve economic stability.
The former PEPCO chief warned that without structural changes in the power sector, inflationary pressures would continue to intensify, affecting households and industrial growth alike.
