Hub Power sees falling power demand on high tariffs

KARACHI: Hub Power Co Ltd (Hubco), the country’s largest private utility, expects power consumption in the country to fall again this year due to higher tariffs and tepid industrial activity, a top executive told Reuters. Power demand in Pakistan plunged last year by nearly a sixth and a decline in 2024 would mark the first time in 16 years that annual electricity use has fallen consecutively, data from energy think tank Ember showed. “There is demand destruction on the industry side because the industry unfortunately is not growing,” Hubco Chief Financial Officer Muhammad Saqib told Reuters on the sidelines of the Energy Summit 2024 conference in Karachi.