Business community urges govt to restructure energy policy

HYDERABAD, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 17th May, 2026) The Hyderabad Chamber of Small Traders and Small Industry has lamented that expensive electricity, heavy taxes and huge payments made to Independent Power Producers (IPPs) have put the country’s economy under severe pressure.

The chamber's President Muhammad Saleem Memon said in a statement issued here on Sunday that the public was dealing with the burdens of inflation, unemployment, rising rents and unbearable electricity bills.

On the other hand, he added, trillions of rupees were being paid to the IPPs for expensive electricity.

Memon noted that as per the official assessments, the circular debt in Pakistan’s energy sector remained between Rs2.

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6 trillion to Rs3.2 trillion.

He pointed out that the industrial sector was already under severe pressure due to heavy taxes, fuel adjustment charges and high energy prices, as a result of which the cost of production had increased significantly.

The chamber's President urged the government to immediately restructure the energy policy, comprehensively review the capacity payment model and to promote renewable energy projects on a priority basis to ensure affordable, sustainable and reliable energy supply on a long-term basis.