# Rs 1.04 trillion to private power plants, Rs 186bn to WAPDA for nearly as much

Source: Searchable (https://searchable.pk/news/economy/rs-104-trillion-to-private-power-plants-rs-186bn-to-wapda-for-nearly-as-much)
Type: News article
Author: Searchable Editorial
Published: 18 Sept 2026
Updated: 18 Sept 2026
Retrieved: 18 Sept 2026

> Senate figures put Tarbela at Rs 2.70 a unit and Sahiwal coal at Rs 34.17. The gap between dam power and IPP power is what sits on your bill.

Figures presented in the **Senate** show the government paid **Rs 1.04 trillion to private independent power producers for 49.8 billion units** of electricity, and **Rs 186 billion to WAPDA for 34.5 billion units**.

Work that out per unit and the gap is stark. WAPDA's hydel power came to roughly **Rs 5.39 a unit** on average. The IPP payments come to roughly **Rs 20.9 a unit**, close to four times as much, before capacity charges are counted separately.

## What each source actually costs

| Plant or source | Cost per unit |
|---|---|
| Tarbela hydel | Rs 2.70 |
| Mangla hydel | Rs 3.75 |
| Average across dams | Rs 5.39 |
| Chashma nuclear | Rs 6.76 |
| Thar domestic coal | Rs 19.03 |
| Port Qasim coal | Rs 32.16 |
| Sahiwal coal | Rs 34.17 |

Tarbela produces a unit for **Rs 2.70**. Sahiwal produces the same unit for **Rs 34.17**, more than twelve times as much. Both feed the same grid and both end up in the same bill.

## The capacity charge on top

Beyond the payment for electricity actually delivered, more than **Rs 1.3 trillion** was paid to IPPs in **capacity charges** during the current fiscal year. Capacity payments are owed whether or not the plant generates. They are contractual, dollar-indexed in many cases, and they are the single largest reason the per-unit tariff keeps rising while demand does not.

## What this means for your bill

Nothing here is a line item you can see. Capacity payments and the fuel cost differential arrive on your bill as adjustments, surcharges and a rising base tariff. A household consuming 300 units a month is paying its share of a Rs 1.3 trillion obligation to plants that may have run at a fraction of capacity.

Two practical consequences:

- **Slab discipline matters more than ever.** Crossing a slab boundary costs more than the extra units themselves. Check where you sit with the [electricity bill calculator](/tools/utilities/electricity-bill-calculator).
- **Solar payback keeps getting shorter.** Every rise in the per-unit tariff shortens the time it takes a rooftop system to pay for itself. Run your own numbers on the [solar payback calculator](/tools/solar/solar-payback-calculator).

## The structural problem

Cheap hydel capacity is fixed and seasonal. Tarbela and Mangla cannot be scaled up on demand, and river flows fall in winter exactly when the system leans hardest on thermal plants. Imported-coal plants at Sahiwal and Port Qasim are the expensive top of the stack, and their costs move with the coal price and the rupee, neither of which is under Pakistani control.

Watch the rupee on our [dollar rate page](/data/usd-pkr): a weaker rupee raises the cost of every imported-fuel unit on that table.

## Frequently asked questions

**How much does electricity from Tarbela cost compared with coal plants?**

Figures presented in the Senate put Tarbela hydel at Rs 2.70 a unit and Sahiwal coal at Rs 34.17 a unit, more than twelve times as much. The average across dams is Rs 5.39.

**What are capacity payments and why do they raise my bill?**

Capacity payments are contractual amounts owed to independent power producers whether or not the plant generates electricity. More than Rs 1.3 trillion was paid in capacity charges in the current fiscal year, and this reaches consumers through the base tariff and surcharges rather than as a named line item.

## Sources

- IPPs Charge 12 Times More than Dams for Electricity Generation (18 Sep 2026) (ProPakistani): https://propakistani.pk/2026/09/18/ipps-charge-12-times-more-than-dams-for-electricity-generation/

How to cite: "Rs 1.04 trillion to private power plants, Rs 186bn to WAPDA for nearly as much", Searchable, 18 Sept 2026, https://searchable.pk/news/economy/rs-104-trillion-to-private-power-plants-rs-186bn-to-wapda-for-nearly-as-much