Pakistan power companies have not introduced additional peak charges
"Morning hours are also counted as peak hours ... Loot with both hands, loot the public," reads an Urdu-language post on X on July 12, 2025.
It includes a screenshot of a table titled "Regional Peak Hours by Distribution Company" listing peak hour periods in the morning and evening from different Pakistan power companies.
The same table was also shared elsewhere on Facebook and TikTok.
Soaring fuel costs globally, coupled with demands from the International Monetary Fund to slash government subsidies, led successive Pakistani administrations to repeatedly hike electricity costs (archived link).
Prices have fluctuated since 2022 but peaked at a 155-percent increase, and power bills sometimes outweigh rents.
However, the country's power companies have not introduced additional peak hour charges for the morning.
A reverse image search found the Ministry of Energy rejected the claim by reposting one such false post on X (archived link).
"There is no change in electricity peak hours. Claims about the inclusion of morning hours as peak hours are completely false and misleading. Peak hours remain the same as before," it reads.
"This is fake news and actionable disinformation."
Most of Pakistan's power companies share the same evening peak hour charging schedule as the state-owned Power Information Technology Company, as shown in a timetable posted on its official website (archived link).
Meanwhile, the privately owned Karachi Electric charges extra for power usage between 6:30 pm to 10:30 pm from April to October, and between 6 pm to 10 pm for the remaining five months of the year (archived link).
Neither company has announced an additional peak charge in the morning.
Pakistani outlet Geo News also debunked the false claim (archived link).
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