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Canada Backs Pakistan’s Power Reforms After Envoy’s Islamabad Talks

No agreements emerged, signaling a focus on policy groundwork over immediate deals.

Overview

  • Pakistan’s power minister Sardar Awais Leghari met Canadian High Commissioner Tarik Ali Khan in Islamabad on Wednesday to discuss energy cooperation and investment as the envoy praised Pakistan’s role in helping a recent ceasefire.
  • The envoy, joined by Canadian firm JCM Power, asked for support to speed a generation licence and tariff for a 240 MW hybrid project that regulators named JCM the winning bidder for in May 2025 after a 2024 K‑Electric tender.
  • Leghari said clean sources supplied about 55% of Pakistan’s electricity last year and he plans to expand hydropower to lower costs under a least‑cost, sustainable plan.
  • He said the government is reviewing a shift by imported‑coal power plants to local coal, with environmental studies near completion and any change dependent on the findings.
  • The minister also outlined a soon‑to‑launch time‑of‑use power tariff that rewards off‑peak use for industry, plans for grid‑scale battery storage, and systems to safely handle waste from solar panels and batteries.