The All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) has urged the Power Division to review the existing peak hours regime to better reflect the actual demand trends of the national grid, citing significant underutilisation of capacity and a widening seasonal gap in electricity demand.
In a letter addressed to the Minister for Power, APTMA stated that data from distribution companies (Discos) and K-Electric shows that the national demand peak now occurs closer to midnight, rather than during the officially designated hours of 6–10 p.m. in spring and 7–11 p.m. in summer.
The association said overall system demand continues to rise even after the end of these peak windows, reaching more than 21,000 megawatts, suggesting that transmission capacity remains available but higher tariffs are discouraging usage.
APTMA argued that the current structure results in suboptimal grid utilization and suppresses industrial consumption. It called on the ministry to conduct a data-driven assessment to identify the point where higher fuel costs during peak hours are balanced by lower per-unit capacity charges, creating a neutral tariff impact.
The association further proposed differentiated peak-hour pricing to encourage electricity use among consumers with higher price sensitivity, thereby improving grid efficiency. It also highlighted that the 8,000–10,000MW difference between summer and winter demand shows idle capacity that could be better used through a dedicated winter tariff based on marginal generation cost.
APTMA said such a tariff would incentivize industrial operations in the off-season, enhance the system’s load factor, and distribute fixed costs more effectively. The association reaffirmed its willingness to support the Power Division through technical assistance and data modelling to help rationalize the peak-hour policy in line with actual consumption dynamics.
