The federal government has formed a high-level committee to develop practical solutions for exempting telecom towers from electricity load shedding, following mounting concerns that prolonged power outages are causing widespread disruption to mobile and internet services across Pakistan. The committee has been established under the leadership of the Secretary for Information Technology and Telecommunication, based on recommendations made by the Auction Advisory Committee, and includes the Chairman of PTA, a member of the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority, representatives from the Power Division, and members of the telecom industry. The committee has been directed to submit its recommendations to the federal government within three months.
PTA officials said prolonged load shedding in some regions is already affecting telecom services because operators cannot rely on generators for extended periods, and stressed that telecom towers should be exempt from load shedding to ensure uninterrupted communication services. The crisis has been compounding in recent months as the combination of extended load shedding hours and fuel supply disruptions caused by geopolitical instability has put simultaneous pressure on both the grid-dependent and generator-dependent sides of tower power management. Over 20,000 towers across Pakistan have been affected by diesel unavailability, disrupting internet services for approximately 60 million subscribers.
Several specific proposals are under active consideration by the committee. One approach involves connecting telecom towers to express feeders, dedicated power lines exempt from load shedding schedules that already serve hospitals, water pumping stations, and other critical national infrastructure. Officials said the committee will develop smart solutions to ensure an uninterrupted electricity supply for telecom infrastructure, with one proposal under consideration being to provide telecom towers with a separate power supply when electricity feeders are switched off. The Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication has also proposed making it mandatory for telecom operators to install solar power systems at tower sites, a measure that would reduce dependence on both the grid and diesel generators while also cutting the sector’s long-term electricity costs. A separate proposal involves reclassifying the telecom sector from commercial to industrial electricity tariffs, which would materially reduce per-unit electricity costs for operators and ease the financial pressure that has been forcing corner-cutting on generator fuel and maintenance.
Senator Kamran Murtaza also noted during committee discussions that worsening law and order conditions in certain areas are contributing to disruptions in telecom services, adding a security dimension to what has primarily been framed as a power sector challenge. The three-month timeline for committee recommendations reflects the urgency that both regulators and industry participants have attached to the issue, as the continued degradation of mobile and internet service quality directly undermines Pakistan’s digital economy ambitions, its growing IT export sector, and the connectivity improvements being promised through the ongoing 5G rollout across 22 cities.
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