The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a US$400m loan to support Pakistan's ongoing reforms to tackle the country’s chronic energy crisis which has crippled industries and caused social unrest. Pakistan’s economy has been devastated by chronic power shortages which are estimated to have slowed GDP growth by at least 2 percentage points a year. Private investment has been sharply reduced and power sector subsidies have caused high fiscal deficits and elevated public debt. The government is implementing the National Power Policy which was approved in July 2013 to resolve these problems. The sustainable energy sector reform program will support the overhaul of existing tariffs and subsidies as the government moves to eliminate subsidies by 2016, except for low income customers. It will also back reforms to reduce power losses and encourage more sector involvement from the private sector and improving transparency and accountability. The full program is expected to total US$1.2bn, with future amounts subject to further discussions between ADB and the government.