By SKM
August 21, 2026
ISLAMABAD: The All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) has opposed the proposed positive Fuel Price Adjustment (FPA) of Rs2.52 per kilowatt-hour for July 2026, warning that the additional burden could further undermine the competitiveness of Pakistan’s export-oriented textile industry.
APTMA Chairman Kamran Arshad urged the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) to reject the proposed adjustment, arguing that industrial consumers should not be made to pay for costs unrelated to their actual cost of service.
The association has particularly questioned the pricing mechanism under the Incremental Consumption Package, under which additional industrial and agricultural electricity consumption is being charged at Rs22.98/kWh. According to APTMA, actual marginal generation costs have remained above this rate for much of the period since the package was introduced.
APTMA contended that the resulting differential should be recovered from consumers benefiting from the incremental consumption package rather than being passed on to the wider consumer base through FPA and quarterly tariff adjustments.
The textile industry has also raised concerns over what it described as an unusually low reference Power Purchase Price for July, saying faulty assumptions in the reference calculation contributed to the higher FPA.
“Predictability in electricity costs is particularly important for export-oriented industries,” the association said, noting that textile exporters often secure orders and determine prices months in advance. Unanticipated increases in energy costs, it added, make it more difficult for exporters to remain competitive in international markets.
APTMA also took aim at the continued use of expensive RLNG-based generation, arguing that mandatory gas offtake arrangements should not lead to costly power generation being dispatched when cheaper electricity is available in the system.
The association said Pakistan’s textile exporters are already facing electricity tariffs significantly higher than those of key regional competitors. Passing avoidable generation and system costs on to industrial consumers, it warned, could discourage the use of grid electricity and further weaken the sector’s international competitiveness.
APTMA called on NEPRA to ensure that industrial consumers are not burdened with costs arising from inefficient dispatch, unrealistic reference assumptions and other structural shortcomings in the power sector.
The association said a timely review of the Incremental Consumption Package was also necessary to address higher-than-anticipated costs and ensure that the burden is allocated to the consumers and mechanisms responsible for generating it. Ends
