Pakistan's high electricity tariffs and rising production costs are eroding industrial competitiveness, business leaders warned on Friday, urging the government to reduce peak-hour power charges and introduce financing for solar batteries at a concessional 3% markup rate. The proposals were made at the opening of the three-day Solar and Storage Expo at the Expo Centre Lahore, where more than 100 international and local companies gathered to showcase solar technologies, energy-storage systems, electric vehicles and other renewable-energy products.
United Business Group Patron-in-Chief SM Tanveer and Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry Regional Chairman Zaki Aijaz jointly inaugurated the exhibition. The two business leaders argued that affordable and sustainable energy had become an economic priority for Pakistan's industrial sector, linking energy costs directly with manufacturing growth, export competitiveness and energy security. Their most immediate demand concerned electricity prices during peak hours. Tanveer and Aijaz called on the government to rationalise peak-hour tariffs to ease the financial pressure on industries already confronting elevated production expenses.
They also sought a dedicated financing programme for solar batteries from the federal and provincial governments. Under their proposal, financing would be provided at a concessional markup rate of 3%, making energy-storage systems more accessible to industrial users. They argued that such a facility could enable manufacturers to reduce their energy expenditure and improve their ability to compete in international markets. The appeal places battery storage alongside solar generation as part of the business community's proposed response to Pakistan's industrial energy costs.
The two leaders welcomed the government's decision not to impose additional taxes on solar panels, batteries and inverters. They nevertheless argued that avoiding new taxation alone would not be sufficient to accelerate the transition towards renewable energy. Further policy measures and practical incentives were required, they said.
Electric vehicles were another focus of their recommendations. Tanveer and Aijaz said taxes on EVs in Punjab remained comparatively high and urged the provincial government to reduce them to encourage cleaner transportation. Aijaz placed the proposals within the broader pressures facing Pakistani industry. He identified high electricity tariffs, escalating production expenses, dependence on imported fuels and environmental degradation as significant challenges that have weakened industrial competitiveness. At the same time, he pointed to Pakistan's abundant solar resources as an opportunity to reduce some of those pressures. Aijaz said countries around the world were strengthening their economies through investment in renewable energy and argued that Pakistan should make greater use of its own solar potential.
For the business leaders, greater deployment of renewable energy is tied not merely to environmental considerations but also to industrial economics. They argued that cheaper and more sustainable power could help manufacturers lower production costs, improve export competitiveness and strengthen the country's energy security. Their proposed 3% financing facility for batteries is intended to make storage more affordable, while lower peak-hour electricity tariffs would provide more immediate relief to industrial consumers. The exhibition itself reflects the range of technologies around which that transition could develop. Participating companies are displaying solar equipment, storage solutions, EVs and other renewable-energy products over the three-day event.
Yet the business leaders' message was primarily directed at policymakers rather than technology providers. They maintained that further incentives would be necessary if Pakistan were to translate its solar resources into lower industrial costs and greater energy independence. Aijaz argued that harnessing this natural potential was essential for sustainable industrialisation and longer-term economic prosperity.
The demands emerging from the Lahore gathering therefore centre on the cost of transition as much as its technology: business representatives want cheaper peak-hour electricity, lower provincial taxes on electric vehicles and concessional financing for battery storage. Their argument is that without addressing the financial constraints surrounding energy use and renewable investment, Pakistan's abundant solar resources will not by themselves resolve the high production costs weighing on industrial competitiveness.