The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) has given its approval for a quarterly adjustment, resulting in an increase of Rs5.40 per unit in the power tariff.
This adjustment comes as NEPRA recognises the limitations of the current structure of electricity distribution companies in providing relief to consumers. However, it’s important to note that this revised tariff won’t apply to Lifeline and K-Electric consumers.
According to Samaa, NEPRA’s decision to revise the tariff comes after a thorough review of requests from distribution companies to raise the tariff by Rs5 per unit for the fourth quarter of the fiscal year 2022–23. Among these requests, FESCO, GEPCO, HESCO, and IESCO sought increases of Rs23.49 billion, Rs16.13 billion, Rs9 billion, and Rs9 billion, respectively.
Additionally, LESCO requested a substantial increment exceeding Rs31 billion, while MEPCO, PESCO, QESCO, SEPCO, and TESCO collectively proposed tariff hikes totaling Rs27 billion, Rs9 billion, Rs7 billion, Rs5 billion, and Rs4 billion.
Consumers should be aware that this tariff adjustment will be gradually recovered during September, October, and November, resulting in an added financial burden of Rs5.40 per unit.
Distribution companies, in their submissions, highlighted revenue challenges stemming from decreased industrial demand. Particularly, LESCO faced a deficit of three billion units of electricity due to climate-related issues and industrial shutdowns. Both LESCO and HESCO faced higher capacity charges due to industry closures and reduced demand.
Presently, there’s a backlog of approximately 350,000 pending connections with distribution companies. To recover revenue and address declining demand, the Central Power Purchasing Agency imposed surcharges amounting to Rs7.91.
