NEPRA raises power tariff as people demand electricity

NEPRA increases power tariff amidst worst power crisis in the country.

ISLAMABAD: The average Pakistani is being handed a double deuce by the electricity generation companies. While the load shedding hours increase steadily, the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority has authorised a power tariff hike.

NEPRA has once again cleared a hike of Rs1.7 per unit in power tariff. This move comes weeks after NEPRA had allowed a per unit tariff hike by a rupee.

An average house uses around 400 to 500 units of electricity in the summers, excluding air conditioners. Meaning, consumers will have to pay 400 to 500 rupees more on basic electricity usage.

NEPRA defended the increase, terming the rates have been revised for all power distribution companies due to increase in furnace oil prices and that the new bills will be according to new rates.

The public distress is not helped by PEPCO which has increased load shedding durations as the energy crisis worsens in the country.

Last week, Lahore suffered from up to 12 hours of power cuts as grid stations ran out of furnace oil to keep their generators firing. Even Lahore’s Allama Iqbal International airport suffered power cuts for a short period of time as PEPCO shut down six grid stations.

In Quetta, urban areas are facing power cuts up to eight hours while the duration of load shedding in rural areas had increased to between 14 and 16 hours.

In other areas of Punjab, Faisalabad, Sargodha, Multan and other cities power outages are up to 12 hours a day.
10 to 12 hours long power outages are also affecting daily routines of life in Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

PEPCO says the total power shortfall is above two thousand megawatts.