NEPRA okays Rs2.86 per unit hike in power tariff

The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) approved on Wednesday a hike of Rs2.86 per unit in power tariff as part of its fuel cost adjustment (FCA) for March 2022.

This will place a monthly burden of over Rs28.9 billion on consumers other than those served by K-Electric. For K-Electric (KE) customers, the tariff has been hiked by Rs4.83 per unit. Pakistan’s Central Power Purchasing Agency had recommended an increase of Rs3.16 per unit for March. NEPRA conducted a hearing to consider the proposal and approved a surge of Rs2.86.

A notification is expected to be issued soon. Last week, the KE sought an increase of Rs5.27 per unit in its FCA for March 2022 to recover Rs8.59 billion from consumers. According to a petition filed by KE Director Finance Ayaz Jaffar Ahmed, the calculation for the month of March was based on Central Power Purchasing Agency-Guaranteed’s invoice for February 2022 and was subject to adjustments based on NEPRA’s decision.

Earlier, the CPPA-G was held responsible for load shedding after it “failed” to make payments to power plants to purchase fuel. The country is facing up to six to 10 hours of load shedding a day.