By Hamza Faisal

Pakistan's mobile operators are a step closer to cheaper electricity after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif directed a special task force to finalise recommendations for extending industrial power tariffs to telecom infrastructure — a move the industry says could unlock billions in 5G and data-centre investment.

The Prime Minister's Office has asked the task force to consult the Power Division and the Finance Division before submitting its recommendations, which will cover the financial implications of the relief and a mechanism for absorbing the difference between commercial and industrial rates.

The directive follows a joint appeal by the chief executives of Jazz, CMPak (Zong), PTMIL (Ufone and Telenor) and PTCL, who have urged the government to treat licensed telecom infrastructure as an industry for power billing purposes.

A long-running demand reaches the Prime Minister's desk

The operators argue that the sector has long been recognised as an industry under government policy and legislation, including the Mobile Cellular Policy of 2004, yet continues to pay commercial electricity rates for its network sites.

A special task force headed by the Secretary of the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication was set up on June 29, 2026, to examine industrial power tariffs for telecoms, alongside smart-grid solutions and dedicated electricity feeders. Its first meeting was held on August 4, 2026. The Prime Minister's latest directive is expected to accelerate the process toward a final decision.

The operators say commercial electricity tariffs for telecom sites have risen by about 197 per cent since 2018, while fuel costs have climbed by around 300 per cent — figures the industry cites in its own submissions and which have not been independently verified.

What cheaper power would unlock

The industry says it has committed roughly $2 billion in investment over the next three years to deploy 5G networks, expand fibre connectivity and build AI-ready Tier III data centres — spending it warns is at risk while power costs keep climbing.

Under the operators' proposal, industrial rates would apply only to essential infrastructure: cellular towers, base transceiver stations, switching centres, exchanges, fibre nodes, network operating centres and AI and cloud data centres. The companies have pledged to reinvest any savings into 5G rollout, rural coverage and fibre-to-the-home expansion.

They also argue that cheaper grid power would cut reliance on expensive off-grid generation at remote sites, where prolonged outages already force operators to run diesel generators.

What happens next

No final decision has been announced. The task force's recommendations — and the government's assessment of what the relief would cost the power sector — will decide whether the industrial tariff is extended, and on what timeline.

If approved, the change would be one of the most consequential policy decisions for Pakistan's telecom sector in years, arriving as the country prepares for its long-delayed 5G spectrum auction and as operators race to build the data-centre capacity that AI services demand.

For now, the operators' message is unchanged: treat telecom towers like factories, and the investment will follow.