NEPRA hikes power tariff by Rs5.40 per unit

Islamabad: The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) has hiked the power tariff by Rs5.40 per unit in terms of quarterly adjustment on Wednesday.

The authority has stated that it not possible to provide relief to the consumers in the existing structure of electricity distribution companies.

However, the new tariff will not be applicable to lifeline and K-Electric consumers.

A hearing was held by NEPRA on a request by distribution companies to raise the tariff by Rs. 5 per unit.

The application was filed for the 2022–2023 fourth quarter adjustment. A rise of Rs23.49 billion was requested by FESCO, Rs16.13 billion by GEPCO, and Rs9 billion by HESCO and IESCO.

LESCO had requested a rise in consumer costs of over Rs. 31 billion, while MEPCO, PESCO, QESCO, SEPCO, and TESCO had requested increases of Rs. 27 billion, Rs. 9 billion, Rs. 7 billion, and Rs. 5 billion.

The NEPRA case office stated that consumers will bear an extra burden of Rs. 5.40 in addition to the fact that this amount will be recovered in September, October, and November.

The DISCOs argued in their application that the decline in industrial demand has had an impact on revenue. Three billion units of electricity were lacking for LESCO as a result of industry shutdowns and climate change.

Energy consumption was 1,000 megawatts lower than the previous year, according to LESCO. Due to market downturns and industry shutdowns, HESCO also saw a rise in capacity charges.

Pending connections with DISCOS currently total 350,000, according to the firms. Suppressions of Rs7.91 were levied due to the decline in demand and rebound, the Central Power Purchasing Agency reported.