Energy & Consumer Affairs | August 2026 | 4 min read
⚡ Quick Takeaways
⚡ Cabinet Committee on Energy, chaired by PM Shehbaz, has approved the high-level design of an Integrated Energy Plan 2027-2060.
⚡ The plan covers affordable electricity, low-carbon generation, energy security, and industrial competitiveness through 2060.
⚡ Amendments to the National Electricity Plan 2023-27 were also approved — covering renewables, cross-border trade, tariffs and digitisation.
⚡ KPK government and NEPRA must be consulted before amendments are finalised — a pending step.
⚡ Circular debt reports for both power and gas sectors (FY26) were presented but no figures were publicly disclosed.
Pakistan’s Cabinet Committee on Energy has approved the high-level design of an Integrated Energy Plan that will guide the country’s electricity and energy sector through 2060 — but released almost no detail about what the plan actually proposes. The announcement covers the plan’s objectives and scope without disclosing targets, investment requirements, timelines, or the circular debt figures reviewed at the same meeting.
| 2027–2060
Plan Period Integrated Energy Plan |
Approved
NEP Amendments Subject to KPK + NEPRA consult |
Reviewed
Circular Debt Figures not disclosed publicly |
What Was Approved — and What It Covers
| Integrated Energy Plan 2027-60 | NEP 2023-27 Amendments |
| • Affordable electricity for industrial and domestic consumers
• Energy security and economic competitiveness • Low-carbon energy and electricity generation • Climate-change-adaptive energy sources • Federal-provincial coordination on energy |
• Integrated energy planning
• Increasing electricity generation • Renewables for remote areas • Cross-border electricity trade • Transmission system expansion • Tariff design reform • Electricity conservation • System and market operations • Risk identification • Local fuel and technology development • Research, development and digitisation |
| ℹ️ Two Documents — IEP 2027-60 and NEP 2023-27 Amendments The Integrated Energy Plan 2027-2060 and the National Electricity Plan amendments are two separate documents approved in the same meeting. The IEP is a new 33-year strategic framework. The NEP amendments update the existing 2023-27 plan that was already in implementation. Both share overlapping objectives but operate on different timeframes — the NEP amendments are nearer-term operational changes, while the IEP sets the directional architecture through 2060. |
The KPK and NEPRA Consultation — A Pending Step
The Cabinet Committee directed that further consultations be held with the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and NEPRA before proceeding further with the National Electricity Plan amendments. This requirement is significant: it means the amendments approved on August 18 are conditional rather than final. KPK’s agreement and NEPRA’s regulatory clearance are prerequisites for the amendments to take effect.
The KPK consultation requirement reflects the constitutional reality that electricity generation and distribution in Pakistan involves both federal and provincial jurisdiction. Amendments that affect hydropower, transmission through KPK territory, or renewable energy development in the province require provincial buy-in. NEPRA’s consultation is required because the regulator has statutory authority over tariff design, licensing, and electricity market rules — the exact areas covered by several of the amendments.
| ⚠️ Consultations Required — Amendments Are Not Yet Final Pakistan has a consistent pattern of energy plans that are approved in principle but delayed in implementation. The KPK and NEPRA consultation requirement — while institutionally sound — adds another procedural step between approval and implementation. Whether the consultations are completed within weeks or stretch to months will determine how quickly the NEP amendments actually take effect. |
Circular Debt — Reviewed but Not Disclosed
The meeting reviewed circular debt reports for both the power sector and the gas sector for fiscal year 2025-26. Both reports were presented — the power sector’s by the Power Division, the gas sector’s by the Petroleum Division. The Prime Minister’s Office statement confirmed this review took place but did not disclose the circular debt figures for either sector.
The non-disclosure of circular debt numbers is notable. Circular debt in Pakistan’s power sector has been one of the largest single constraints on the energy system’s financial sustainability — a liability that has grown for years and affects payments to power producers, fuel suppliers, and the state’s fiscal position. At a meeting chaired by the Prime Minister specifically focused on energy, the decision not to publish those figures in the official readout suggests the numbers remain politically sensitive.
| 🔴 Circular Debt Figures Not Disclosed — What the Silence Signals Pakistan’s power sector circular debt has been estimated in the range of Rs2.5 to Rs3 trillion at various points in recent years, with gas sector circular debt running separately. Without the disclosed figures from the August 18 review, it is not possible to assess whether the 2025-26 position has improved, stabilised, or worsened relative to prior years. The omission is the signal. |
What the Plan Promises vs What It Has Confirmed
The Integrated Energy Plan 2027-2060 is described as a high-level design — not a detailed implementation plan. It sets objectives (affordable electricity, low-carbon generation, energy security) without specifying how those objectives will be achieved, what investments they require, what generation capacity will be added, or what the electricity tariff trajectory will look like from 2027 through 2060.
This is appropriate for a high-level design document at this stage — the detailed work follows. But Pakistani consumers facing electricity bills that have roughly doubled over the past three years are looking for concrete relief timelines, not framework approval. The plan’s stated objective of affordable electricity by 2027 is the commitment that will be measured against actual bills when the time arrives.
Disclaimer: All details are from the Prime Minister’s Office statement. No financial targets, implementation timelines, circular debt figures, or investment requirements have been publicly disclosed. Full plan details are subject to the pending consultation with KPK government and NEPRA.
