Federal Energy Minister Awais Leghari said on Thursday that the government was working to reduce electricity prices to Rs10 per unit within the next eight to 10 months.

“Reducing electricity prices is a top priority for the government,” he said at a press conference in Islamabad.

“Various measures are being implemented to achieve this goal, including consultations with electricity generation companies to lower prices.”

The minister highlighted that the termination of agreements with five independent power producers has resulted in a savings of Rs411 billion.

In the initial phase, the minister mentioned that discussions have begun with the five IPPs to review existing contracts, leading to a mutual agreement on a common point through collaborative consultations.

“The government has successfully turned the impossible into reality and will now engage in negotiations with other IPPs,” Leghari said and stressed the need for further reforms in the energy sector.

He mentioned that a programme was being considered to increase electricity usage during the winter months, noting that the benefits of improved governance and policies were starting to reach the people.

The energy minister explained that electricity could be purchased in a “manner similar to how shares were bought,” with a new institution set to be established, which has already received cabinet approval.

He highlighted that the government was creating a “more open environment for electricity trading,” ensuring that electricity buyers would no longer be solely dependent on the Central Power Purchasing Agency.

“There has been a visible reduction in losses among distribution companies,” he said and added that the distribution companies in Hyderabad, Quetta, and Sukkur have incurred losses over the past three months.

Leghari added that five IPPs were owed Rs71 billion, which needs to be paid. He confirmed that it has been agreed upon that there would be no capacity payments in the future to such IPPs.