Awais Leghari: Govt Faces New Resource Shortage and Relief

Power Minister Awais Leghari said on Thursday that the current government does not have enough resources to help the people. Speaking on Samaa TV’s show Nadeem Malik Live, Leghari said, “We have started making reforms under Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s leadership. It is important to move forward responsibly.”

Awais Leghari also mentioned that the government has started reviewing agreements with Independent Power Producers (IPPs). “Because of this review, electricity prices have come down,” he added.

The minister said that talks were still going on with Chinese power plants, including 68 plants. Furthermore Leghari said that talks about debt repayment with Chinese partners were still going on.

He also announced that the government was discussing agreements with wind, solar, and government-owned power plants. The goal is to give any benefits from these changes to the public.

Leghari stressed that the government was being responsible. Moreover he said, “We need to move forward carefully. It is our duty to manage things well and solve our own problems. We don’t have enough money to provide financial relief.”

He also said that under Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s leadership, reforms had been made in the past year.
The minister said that reviewing agreements with Independent Power Producers (IPPs) had already helped lower electricity prices, reducing costs by Rs7.41 per unit.

He explained that while changing contracts was not too difficult, the main challenge was building trust.
“The real question is whether electricity prices will continue to go down. Therefore our reforms have gained the trust of international partners, and we convinced the IMF by making changes in the power sector,” Leghari said.

Leghari also shared that the government was close to reaching a deal with banks, which had saved hundreds of billions of rupees by reducing late payment charges to IPPs.

He added that the government had eased the burden of high electricity costs on the public. In the past, the government bought expensive electricity from IPPs, and this extra cost was passed on to consumers.
Leghari said that the government was close to making a deal with banks, which had helped save hundreds of billions of rupees by reducing late payment charges to power companies (IPPs).