For the month of April, the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) is expected to authorize an increase of Rs. 4.68 per unit for Pakistan’s energy consumers.
It heard a petition from the Central Power Purchasing Agency (CPPA), which requested that the price of one unit of electricity be increased to Rs. 4.94 per unit for all consumers (excluding those in Karachi) due to the monthly Fuel Cost Adjustment (FCA) for the month of February.
Chairman NEPRA Tauseef H. Farooqi presided over the public hearing, which was also attended by members Rafiq Ahmed Sheikh and Engineer Maqsood Anwar Khan.
According to NEPRA data, the actual FCA for the month of February is Rs 4.68 per unit.
For the month of January, electricity customers were charged Rs. 5.94 per unit as part of the monthly Fuel Cost Adjustment (FCA).
The Chairman stated at the hearing that the February FCA was Rs. 1.26 per unit less than the January FCA, which was just for a month. Furthermore, this hike will not affect K-Electric customers.
Furthermore, after further examination of the evidence, the NEPRA will make a thorough decision.
Chairman NEPRA remarked that “fourteen percent less electricity was generated from hydel sources in February,” and that the output of furnace oil and LNG had mitigated the disparity. He also mentioned that the monthly FCA is higher mainly because of a global spike in fuel prices.
Rafiq Sheikh, a member from Sindh, requested an examination of the previous fuel adjustment, claiming an exceptionally high difference between the CPPA’s and NEPRA’s statistical data.
The officials briefed the NEPRA, stating that the breach of the merit order in power generating cost consumers a whopping Rs. 1.37 billion in terms of costly generation.
In the following days, NEPRA will issue a notification announcing its decision.
To read our blog on “NEPRA approves huge increase in electricity per unit cost for January,” click here.
