{
  "id": 18439082,
  "title": "Govt ‘wastes’ Rs3.5tr yearly on energy imports",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/06/govt-wastes-rs3-5tr-yearly-on-energy-imports-18439082",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-11-06T01:59:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Dawn",
    "slug": "dawn",
    "url": "https://www.dawn.com/news/2042457/govt-wastes-rs35tr-yearly-on-energy-imports"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Pakistan is squandering Rs3.5 trillion each year on unnecessary energy imports, surpassing the federal development budget, according to research by the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) Energy Institute (LEI). This figure stems from mismanagement, delays in adopting building codes, and the failure to implement an indigenisation plan for energy materials and equipment. The federal government approved a building energy conservation code in 2023, which could have cut the cooling load by 51pc, yet provincial governments have yet to adopt the code. Dr Fiaz Chaudhry, Chairman of National Grid Pakistan (NGP), warned of a looming 'capacity trap' in 2014-15 over the induction of unnecessary power generation and was subsequently removed from NGP. A LEI study highlights that enhancing energy efficiency in 25pc of residential buildings could slash peak electricity demand by 3,000MW and lead to annual energy-cost savings of Rs442.6bn. The assessment also identifies roughly Rs1.1 trillion in potential indigenisation opportunities within Pakistan's transmission and distribution sectors, whereas the projected equipment demand stands at Rs1.9 trillion.",
  "summary": "ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is wasting Rs3.5 trillion annually — more than three times the federal development budget — on unnecessary, rising energy-sector imports due to mismanagement, delays in adopting building codes, and failure to implement an indigenisation plan for energy materials and equipment that used to be produced locally. This was the crux of an event on ‘Pakistan’s Energy Security’,…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}