Another relief as govt reduces power tariff

Islamabad: National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) is set to approve a reduction of Rs1.75 per kilowatt‑hour as a negative Quarterly Tariff Adjustment (QTA) for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2024‑25.

A public hearing was held on the same day to review CPPA‑G’s (Central Power Purchasing Agency – Guaranteed) request and supporting data from distribution companies and K‑Electric

The authority said it will issue the official decision after completing a detailed review of demand, generation, and payment data. Once approved, the adjustment will apply uniformly across all government DISCOs and K‑Electric

Consumers nationwide are expected to benefit from over Rs53.39 billion in relief, primarily through adjusted capacity and fuel charges on their electricity bills

During the hearing, CPPA‑G disclosed that circular debt stood at approximately Rs780bn as of 30 June 2025—based on figures submitted during the Cabinet Committee on Energy meeting. However, the CPPA‑G CEO later revealed the full burden was about Rs1.6 trillion, excluding pending recovery shortfalls and unpaid distribution losses

Officials highlighted that better performance in bill collection and reduced transmission & distribution losses helped dramatically slow the flow of new debt—dropping from Rs243bn in the same quarter last year to just Rs73bn this time, a swing of nearly Rs170bn

One major contributing factor cited: the nearly year-long outage of the Neelum‑Jhelum hydropower plant resulted in an estimated Rs18bn reduction in capacity charges, supporting the rationale for the tariff cut

The official tariff order is expected within the next few days, after which the lower charges will be automatically applied in consumer bills across the country.