{"id":164,"date":"2026-06-03T15:06:58","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T15:06:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/goodforfree.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/03\/power-ministry-confirms-electricity-subsidy-will-continue-for-20-million-protected-consumers\/"},"modified":"2026-06-03T15:06:58","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T15:06:58","slug":"power-ministry-confirms-electricity-subsidy-will-continue-for-20-million-protected-consumers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.goodforfree.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/03\/power-ministry-confirms-electricity-subsidy-will-continue-for-20-million-protected-consumers\/","title":{"rendered":"Power Ministry Confirms Electricity Subsidy Will Continue for 20 Million Protected Consumers"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The federal government has firmly dismissed speculation that it plans to end electricity subsidies for protected consumers, assuring millions of low-income households that financial relief will continue uninterrupted.<\/p>\n

Federal Minister for Power Awais Ahmed Khan Leghari addressed growing public concerns during a press conference in Islamabad on Sunday, clarifying that eligible consumers using less than 200 units monthly will keep receiving subsidized electricity rates. He emphasized that more than 20 million households currently benefit from this support.<\/p>\n

The minister rejected circulating reports about subsidy withdrawal as factually incorrect and stressed that the government remains committed to protecting vulnerable consumers from high electricity costs. He also ruled out any new taxes on power bills, stating no such measures are being considered.<\/p>\n

What is changing, however, is the delivery mechanism. The government is introducing a QR code-based registration system designed to verify eligibility and prevent misuse of subsidies. Leghari explained that the reform aims to compile accurate consumer data and ensure financial assistance reaches only those who genuinely qualify.<\/p>\n

The number of subsidy recipients has grown dramatically in recent years, jumping from 9.5 million to 21.5 million over the past four years. Currently, approximately 29.57 million domestic electricity consumers\u2014representing 86 percent of all households\u2014receive some form of subsidy.<\/p>\n

Leghari highlighted broader power sector reforms that he said are delivering tangible benefits. Renegotiated contracts with independent power producers have reportedly saved Rs3.5 trillion, while reducing losses at distribution companies has generated Rs193 billion in savings. The government also claims to have reduced circular debt by Rs780 billion during the 2024-25 fiscal year.<\/p>\n

On solar energy, the minister pushed back against criticism that the government is discouraging renewable adoption. He clarified that net metering has not been abolished, only billing procedures have been updated. Over two million single-phase consumers have already registered under the new system, and 90 percent of domestic users will remain unaffected by the revised net billing policy, according to Leghari.<\/p>\n

The government has also simplified regulations for smaller solar projects, removing licensing requirements for installations of 25 kilowatts or less.<\/p>\n

In a separate development, the minister announced disciplinary action against a Lahore Electric Supply Company official following a corruption complaint raised by Defence Minister Khawaja Asif. Leghari called the incident an example of the government’s commitment to internal accountability.<\/p>\n

For millions of Pakistani families struggling with rising living costs, the continuation of electricity subsidies offers crucial relief. The government’s challenge now lies in implementing the new QR code system smoothly while maintaining public trust that deserving households will not lose access to affordable power.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The federal government has firmly dismissed speculation that it plans to end electricity subsidies for protected consumers, assuring millions of low-income households that financial relief will continue uninterrupted. Federal Minister for Power Awais Ahmed Khan<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":163,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[3,9,4],"class_list":["post-164","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world","tag-ai-consensus","tag-geo-news","tag-journalist-ai"],"featured_image_url":"https:\/\/goodforfree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/power-ministry-confirms-electricity-subsidy-will-continue-for-20-million-protected-consumers.png","read_time":"3 min read","source_name":"Goodforfree","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodforfree.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/164","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodforfree.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodforfree.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodforfree.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodforfree.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=164"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodforfree.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/164\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodforfree.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/163"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodforfree.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=164"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodforfree.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=164"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodforfree.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=164"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}