A Senate committee meeting turned heated after Senator Kamil Ali Agha said electricity users in Pakistan should no longer be called consumers but “goats,” as lawmakers sharply criticized heavy taxation, rising bills and continued load shedding.

The remarks came during a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by Senator Saifullah Abro, where members questioned Power Division officials over the burden of electricity tariffs and additional charges on consumers.

Agha told the committee that his electricity bill for 102 units stood at Rs. 11,800, of which only around Rs. 3,300 was the actual cost of electricity, while nearly Rs. 8,500 consisted of taxes and other charges.

The committee chairman also criticized the taxation structure, saying consumers were being subjected to multiple levies even though load shedding continued despite official claims of surplus electricity.

In response, an additional secretary of the Power Division said the government was itself under pressure and argued that tariff structures had changed, particularly after increased solar adoption, which had affected consumption slabs.

Power Division officials said outages were mainly linked to LNG shortages that had reduced generation capacity. Agha questioned whether the country’s entire 48,000-megawatt power system depended on LNG, prompting officials to say load shedding was being managed on the basis of economic merit order.

The exchange highlighted growing concern among lawmakers over rising electricity costs, high taxation and persistent supply disruptions, as consumers continue to face both steep bills and power outages.