ISLAMABAD – The government has decided to impose an additional surcharge on electricity consumers, which could lead to further increases in electricity prices.
The federal government presented the Budget 2025-26 in the National Assembly yesterday, and preparations are underway to place more financial burden on electricity users.
Reports said there are plans to abolish the current 10 percent limit on electricity bill surcharges and amend the NEPRA Act to grant the government authority to increase surcharges through legislation. Under this amendment, the government will be allowed to raise the surcharge on a case-by-case basis and for specific time periods.
There is a proposal to collect a surcharge of up to Rs3.23 per unit from electricity consumers. However, no final decision has yet been made regarding the surcharge increase.
With this amendment, the government will be able to impose additional surcharges on electricity bills depending on the budget or other financial needs, potentially adding a new layer of inflationary pressure on the general public.
In the past, the government used electricity bill surcharges to repay the interest on circular debt.
