Key Takeaways
- Pakistan’s average fuel cost for electricity generation increased by 14% year on year in June.
- Electricity generation from RLNG fell significantly, while imported coal saw a surge of 52% during the fiscal year.
- Nuclear power contributed to strong growth, with its share increasing to 17.7%.
Pakistan’s electricity generation costs have risen by 14% year on year in June, according to data compiled by Topline Research using NEPRA statistics. The increase is primarily attributed to higher fuel costs for RLNG and furnace oil.
Electricity generation declined by 2% year on year to 13,430 GWh in June 2026, but there was a recovery of 6% compared with May. On a full-year basis, electricity generation reached 128,696 GWh in fiscal year 2025-2026 (FY26), marking just a 1% increase from the previous year.
One significant shift noted during FY26 was the decline in RLNG-generated electricity. This source fell by 33% year on year in June and declined by 23% overall, reducing its share to 13.3% of the country’s power mix from 17.5% a year earlier.
In contrast, imported coal emerged as one of the fastest-growing sources of electricity, with generation increasing by 22% in June and surging by 52% during FY26. Its share in the national generation mix rose to 10.7% from 7.1%, making it a key contributor to the energy mix.
Nuclear power also recorded strong growth, with generation rising by 30% in June and 2% during the fiscal year. Nuclear’s contribution increased to 17.7% of Pakistan’s electricity mix, strengthening its position as one of the country’s largest low-cost baseload power sources.
Hydropower remained the single largest contributor to electricity generation, accounting for nearly 31% of total output in FY26. However, it saw a slight decrease of 1% from the previous year due to lower water availability.
Renewable energy showed mixed results. Wind generation increased by 17% during FY26, while solar generation declined by 9%, despite continued additions of rooftop solar capacity. This reflects seasonal generation patterns and lower utility-scale output.
Furnace oil-based generation saw a significant increase of 153% during FY26 from a low base, highlighting the system’s reliance on expensive backup generation during peak demand periods.
