NEPRA approves another electricity tariff increase after higher LPG prices, extending the financial pressure on households and businesses nationwide.
ISLAMABAD, Nov 7 (Focus Pakistan) - The latest NEPRA fuel adjustment will add Rs2.37 to every unit of electricity millions of Pakistanis used in September, and the charge lands on their November bills. Karachi pays the same rate.
The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) notified the increase on Friday under its monthly fuel charges adjustment (FCA) mechanism. Distribution companies across the country and K-Electric will show it as a separate line on the bill, based on each consumer’s September units.
If a company has already issued its November bills, it can recover the adjustment in the following billing month.
Three groups don’t have to pay it: lifeline consumers, electric vehicle charging stations, and customers who opted for prepaid tariffs. Industrial and agricultural users buying extra power under the government’s Incremental Consumption Package get no exemption. The FCA applies to those units too.
NEPRA did not give the Central Power Purchasing Agency (CPPA) its full demand. CPPA asked for Rs2.5624 per unit. The regulator settled on Rs2.3673, about 19 paisa lower.
How Rs7.46 in fuel costs became Rs9.83
The reference tariff assumed fuel would cost Rs7.4596 for each unit of electricity generated in September. In its petition, CPPA put the actual cost at Rs10.02. NEPRA checked the claim and set the actual figure at Rs9.8268. The gap between that figure and the reference gave the approved charge.
CPPA’s filing put fuel spending on generation at Rs127.87 billion for the month. Distribution companies sold 12.76 billion units. At NEPRA’s rate, that comes to potentially around Rs30 billion. Exemptions and other adjustments will bring the actual amount collected down from that.
Also Read: Thar Coal Capacity Jumps 47%, Factories Could Be Next: Sharjeel
The generation mix explains most of the increase. Imported coal generation nearly doubled against projections, reaching 2.16 billion units, while its fuel cost jumped to Rs17.23 per unit from the estimated Rs11.78. Cheaper sources fell short. Hydel plants produced 4.83 billion units against the planned 5.05 billion, and local coal produced 1.33 billion against 1.48 billion.
A household that used 300 units in September will see Rs710.19 on the FCA line, before sales tax and other levies. A shop that used 1,000 units will pay Rs2,367.30 above its regular charges.
The change from October makes the increase bigger. In October bills, consumers paid Rs1.11 per unit under the August adjustment. That charge now drops off and the September charge replaces it, so the fuel component goes up by Rs1.26 per unit from one month to the next.
Consumers have paid a positive adjustment for every consumption month since May. NEPRA notified 34 paisa for May, 75 paisa for June, Rs2.06 for July and Rs1.11 for August. The rate has gone up and down from month to month, but September’s charge is the highest of the five.
Each time, the regulator cut CPPA’s request but did not reject it. For August, the agency asked for Rs1.73 and got Rs1.11. For June, it sought Rs1.20 and got 75 paisa.
Karachi pays the same rate
Under the federal government’s uniform FCA policy, the national rate applies to K-Electric customers as well. For years Karachi had its own fuel adjustment track, and the city’s utility filed separate petitions. The uniform policy brought Karachi into the national system, so its residents now get the same refunds and the same increases as the rest of the country.
For now, November bills will carry the highest fuel charge consumers have seen in five billing months.
