After Energy Minister Khurram Dastgir stated that the government was not considering such a proposal, the Power Division dismissed allegations of a pricing increase on Wednesday.

The minister firmly denied allegations that electricity costs would increase. According to the statement from the power division, the ministry runs numerous simulations to reduce circular debt while taking a wide range of solutions into account.

Dastgir also referred to the reports as "baseless," which claimed an 83% decline in income collection.

As a result of the terrible floods that affected one-third of Pakistan in September, consumers were provided relief in the form of lower fuel prices, and payments were received late.

The energy minister highlighted the entire amount collected over the previous six months, stating that from July to November, it totaled 91%, while in November, it reached 98% against computed billing.

Contrary to what the media had reported, Dastgir said that there had been a decrease in transmission and distribution losses over the previous four months, with a noticeable drop from 20% to 11% occurring from July to October.

The government is reportedly considering raising power rates in an effort to reduce circular debt as part of a last-ditch effort to resurrect the stalled International Monetary Fund (IMF) project, according to reports from a day earlier.

According to the reports, if the plan had been accepted, the maximum power tariff would have increased by Rs31.6/per kWh by imposing a new premium.

According to reports, the idea sought to impose a fee on goods and services in five categories—commercial, bulk, industrial, others, and general—while safeguarding the domestic and agricultural sectors.

Top government officials confirmed to The News on Monday that the cash-strapped power sector was on its way to an unsustainable level, with demands for the current fiscal year potentially rising to a staggering Rs1.73 trillion against an initial budgetary allocation of Rs0.57 trillion due primarily to insufficient budgetary allocations.