Electricity to become cheaper by Rs3.32 a unit

Decision taken at the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) hearing on Tuesday

ISLAMABAD: The top power regulator has approved a cut of Rs3.32 per unit in electricity tariff for bills of May 2016 on account of fuel adjustment. The relief does not apply to K-Electric and agriculture consumers and those households using less than 300 units per month.

The decision was taken at the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) hearing on Tuesday.

In its tariff petition, the Central Power Purchasing Agency (CPPA) had recommended a refund of Rs3.27per unit for May under the monthly fuel price adjustment mechanism.

Nepra noted the fuel cost of electricity delivered to power distribution companies (Discos) was Rs3.49 per unit in May against a reference price of Rs6.77 per unit. The total energy – generated from all sources at a cost of Rs33.74 billion – was delivered at a cost of Rs34.23 billion.

The financial impact of transmission losses was recorded at 2.2% or 220.30 GWh.  However, the CPPA failed to submit the total amount of transmission losses, claiming that per unit cost of transmission losses stood at Rs0.0777per unit.

In May, hydel generation was recorded at 3,584.20GWh which was 35.83% of the total generation. Through the use of LNG in power plants, power generation through high speed diesel (HSD) has declined to 22.56 GWh (0.23%) while its cost was Rs11.69 per unit.

During Tuesday’s hearing, the government’s claim of producing cheaper electricity with LNG instead of furnace oil was also exposed. It was revealed that power plants were being operated on the expensive RLNG compared to cheaper furnace oil.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 22^nd, 2016.