NEPRA increases power tariff by Rs1.16 per unit

Distribution companies will collect an additional Rs16b from consumers next month

ISLAMABAD: The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) has approved an increase of Rs1.16 per unit in the electricity tariff for all power distribution companies, except for K-Electric, on account of fuel cost adjustment for August 2018.

The tariff was revised upwards as the cost of fuel went up while consumers were supplied electricity at lower rates. The distribution companies will include the tariff increase of Rs1.16 per unit in next month's electricity bills.

They will collect an additional Rs16 billion from electricity consumers as a result of the tariff revision.

The distribution companies include Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Hyderabad, Islamabad, Lahore, Multan, Peshawar, Quetta, Sukkur and tribal areas' electricity supplying companies.

The tariff adjustment will, however, not be applicable to lifeline consumers who consume up to 50 units a month and K-Electric consumers.



During a public hearing on Wednesday of a petition filed by the Central Power Purchasing Agency (CPPA) on behalf of the distribution companies, Nepra stated that the cost of power generation rose in August while consumers were charged lower tariffs.

The CPPA had sought a tariff increase of Rs1.4931 per unit for August. It told the regulator that the actual cost of electricity generation stood at Rs6.248 per unit against reference fuel price of Rs4.755, an increase of Rs1.4931 per unit.

The CPPA purchased 6.07 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of electricity from high-speed diesel-based power plants in August 2018 at a cost of Rs17.4975 per unit. It bought 1,643.75GWh produced from residual fuel oil, which accounted for 11.73% of total generation at a cost of Rs14.4663 per unit.

The cost of electricity based on re-gasified liquefied natural gas (RLNG) stood at Rs10.3719 per unit and its share was 22.74% in total electricity generation in August. From this source, 3,187.48GWh was produced in the month.

Generation by hydroelectric power plants stood at 4,478.41GWh, accounting for 31.95% of total generation.



The cost of electricity generated by using domestically produced natural gas was Rs4.9861 per unit and its total share in electricity generation was 14.55% or 2,039.67GWh.

Coal-fired power generation contributed 1,343.77GWh, accounting for 9.59% of total generation at a cost of Rs6.4226 per unit.

Nuclear power plants generated 628.27GWh, having a share of 4.48% at a cost of Rs0.9566 per unit, the cheapest amongst all fuel sources. In August, 48.83GWh of electricity was imported from Iran for Rs11.5709 per unit.

From bagasse, 80.27GWh was generated at a cost of Rs6.2089 and 439.3GWh and 63.67GWh were produced from wind and solar sources respectively.

The CCPA revealed that a total of 14,017.4GWh was generated in August costing Rs77.80 billion. Net electricity delivered to power distribution companies was 13,632.6GWh, costing Rs85.18 billion whereas transmission losses came in at 2.67% or Rs1.715 per unit.