Karachi: Syed Mazhar Ali Nasir, former Senior Vice President of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI), has launched a scathing critique of the agreements with Independent Power Projects (IPPs), which he claims have severely strained Pakistan's economy.

According to Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Nasir detailed the adverse impacts of these agreements, such as massive financial obligations to IPPs that have led to significant losses in the industrial sector, increased unemployment, and a decline in exports. He stressed the paradox of rising electricity generation capacity paired with low consumption due to an antiquated system, which forces Pakistan to incur exorbitant capacity surcharges totaling 2000 billion rupees.

Nasir also highlighted the escalating electric charges in Pakistan, now at 17 cents per kilowatt-hour—far exceeding those in neighboring countries. He underscored the urgent need for the government to revise IPP contracts, propose a forensic audit of all IPP activities, and address charges from non-operational IPPs still invoicing the government.

Additionally, Nasir expressed his concerns over the unsustainable debt cycle within the power sector, driven by high capacity charges to dormant coal-fired power plants and inefficient financial management of revolving loans now exceeding 2655 billion rupees. He proposed optimizing the power system to reduce excess generation and save costs, a critical step toward alleviating the financial burden on the economy.