ISLAMABAD: The federal government on Monday claimed it had prevented a major increase in electricity tariffs by securing emergency liquefied natural gas supplies and restructuring power generation, shielding consumers from an estimated Rs5 to Rs6 per unit hike in June 2026 bills.

According to the Power Division, swift intervention enabled Pakistan to procure LNG from the spot market while regular shipments from QatarEnergy resumed under an existing long-term contract. These measures helped stabilise fuel availability at a time of severe regional disruption and surging global oil prices.

Officials said the shortage of re-gasified LNG, triggered by the ongoing US-Iran conflict, had threatened to force power plants to rely heavily on expensive furnace oil. With Brent crude jumping from the benchmark assumption of $70 per barrel to nearly $120 per barrel in April, authorities warned that consumers were at risk of a steep fuel price adjustment.

The Power Division said the crisis was contained through additional domestic gas allocations, improved utilisation of coal and furnace oil plants and carefully managed load balancing. As a result, the actual fuel price adjustment for April was limited to Rs1.73 per unit instead of the projected Rs5 to Rs6 increase.

At the same time, the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority approved a negative quarterly tariff adjustment of Rs1.93 per unit for three months, creating a financial cushion of Rs65 billion. This reduction is expected to offset the fuel adjustment and may deliver a modest relief of up to 20 paisa per unit in June bills.

The government said these combined measures blocked an additional burden of roughly Rs38 billion from being passed on to consumers. Officials credited rising electricity demand, lower transmission losses and ongoing power sector reforms for helping keep tariffs stable despite unprecedented volatility in international energy markets.