Dawn Investigation Cell
PARIS: Pakistan’s industrial sector is paying almost double the electricity prices compared to China, India and the US and even more than the European Union, which is negatively affecting its export competitiveness.
According to the latest ‘Electricity 2025- Analyses and Forecasts to 2027’ report of the Paris-based International Energy Agency (IEA), the average electricity price in the US and India in 2024 was 6.3 cents per kilowatt-hour, in China it was 7.7 cents, in Norway it was 4.7 cents and in the European Union it was 11.5 cents.
In comparison, the average electricity prices for energy-intensive industries in Pakistan were 13.5 cents per unit in 2024.
Although the cost of electricity in Pakistan is not specifically reported, as it is not a member of the IEA, it details the challenges faced by the European Union, where the average cost of electricity in 2024 was 11.5 cents, about 18 percent lower than in Pakistan.
This may partly reflect the difficulties Pakistani industries face in exporting products domestically and abroad.
The report says that Europe is facing deindustrialization, as high energy costs have pushed industries back, and affordable electricity is essential for economic growth. High electricity prices are continuously undermining the competitiveness of European energy-intensive industries.
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