Senate panel clash over power cuts as lawmaker slams ‘excessive’ electricity taxes

A meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Senator Saifullah Abro, saw a heated debate over electricity load-shedding.

Senator Kamil Ali Agha told officials from the Power Division not to refer to users as “consumers,” but instead to call them “goats” (implying they are being exploited).

During the discussion, Senator Kamil Ali Agha said that his electricity bill for 102 units at the Parliament Lodges was Rs11,800. Of this, the cost of consumed units was Rs3,300, while Rs8,500 consisted of taxes.

He reiterated to Power Division officials that they should stop calling people consumers and instead call them “goats.”

The Additional Secretary of the Power Division responded that, “with due respect, the ‘goat’ at the moment is the government itself,” adding that since the introduction of solar energy, the 200-unit slab has changed.

Committee Chairman Saifullah Abro remarked that various taxes are being imposed—“super tax” here and “jagga tax” there—adding sarcastically that only “Sultan Rahi and Mustafa Qureshi tax” remains to be introduced. He also questioned how electricity could be claimed as surplus while load-shedding continues.

Power Division officials replied that load-shedding is occurring due to a shortage of LNG supply.

Kamil Ali Agha then asked whether all of the 48,000 megawatts of electricity generation depends on LNG. Officials responded that under the economic merit order, some areas are experiencing higher levels of load-shedding.