Environment

Islamabad – The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) on Tuesday approved the federal government’s three-year concessional incremental tariff package at a flat rate of Rs22.98 per unit for industrial consumers and private agriculture tube-well connections, setting aside alternative proposals submitted by the industrial sector.The package, effective after federal government notification, will apply only to additional electricity consumption over and above the reference period of December 2023 to November 2024. Consumers in industrial (B1, B2, B3, B4, B5) and private agricultural categories who increase their usage beyond the benchmark will enjoy the discounted rate for three years. Read More: https://theboardroompk.com/nepra-fines-lesco-gepco-and-fesco-rs57-5-million-over-20-preventable-deaths/ NEPRA clarified that consumers with zero reference consumption, those switching from non-Time of Use (ToU) to ToU meters, or changing tariff categories (e.g., commercial to industrial) will be treated as “new consumers” and qualify under separate benchmarking criteria. However, consumers moving within the same industrial category (e.g., B2 to B3) will retain their existing reference consumption.In case of defective meters, locked connections, or disconnection during the reference period, new-consumer rules will apply. Detection bills will not be counted toward benchmark or incremental consumption, though legitimate dial-adjustment corrections will be considered.Despite industry demands for more favourable load factors, NEPRA retained the Power Division’s proposed parameters to prevent additional burden on protected domestic and other consumers through higher quarterly adjustments. The regulator also simplified benchmarking for new connections by using the higher of sanctioned load or recorded Maximum Demand Indicator (MDI) in a manner that maximises eligibility.NEPRA upheld the inclusion of wheeling consumers under the package, stating that exclusion would violate Section 7(6) of the NEPRA Act and defeat the objective of boosting industrial growth through enhanced electricity consumption.The decision followed a public hearing held on November 11, 2025. Distribution companies have been directed to implement the package immediately upon federal government notification.

ISLAMABADPakistan received major international recognition as its flagship initiative “Reversing Deforestation and Degradation in High Conservation Value Chilgoza Pine Forests” was honored as one of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration World Restoration Flagships at FAO headquarters in Rome, during FAO’s 80th Anniversary and the World Food Forum. Implemented between 2018 and 2025 under The Restoration Initiative, the project represents a strong collaboration between the Government of Pakistan – Ministry of Climate Change, Provincial Forest Departments, and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), said in a FAO press release issued here. The work focuses on conserving and restoring Pakistan’s unique Chilgoza pine forests across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, and Gilgit-Baltistan. Addressing the ceremony, Dr. Syed Tauqir Hussain Shah, Advisor to the Prime Minister, highlighted that the initiative restored 3,800 hectares of degraded forest land, developed sustainable forest management plans for 69,000 hectares, and planted over one million Chilgoza pine seedlings.