NEPRA cuts 75 paisas per unit in KE tariff

Relief will be given to city’s consumers in next month's bills

KARACHI:

The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) on Wednesday reduced about 75 paisa per unit for K-Electric consumers on the account of fuel charges adjustment (FCA) for November 2021.

According to a notification, consumers will avail the relief from the reduction in the tariff in February’s bills.

However, these rates are not applicable to domestic consumers using up to 300 units of electricity as well as lifeline users. They will also not apply to agricultural consumers.

The notification read that negative adjustment on account of monthly FCA was also applicable to the domestic consumers having Time of Use (ToU) meters irrespective of their consumption level.

"The said adjustment shall be shown separately in the consumers’ bills on the basis of units billed to the consumers in the month to which the adjustment pertains," it added.

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The regulatory authority further mentioned that in case the incremental industrial and winter incentive package became applicable to the residents of Karachi, the amount of negative FCA allowed to such consumers would be adjusted in the subsequent adjustments of K-Electric.

Last year, Nepra had allowed K-Electric to collect Rs3.75 per unit on account of FCA for the month of September from the consumers of Karachi in the bills for December.

In its petition submitted to Nepra on the basis of provisional data, K-Electric had sought an increase of Rs3.45 per unit in its power tariff under FCA for September 2021.

K-Electric had requested the regulator -- under the multi-year tariff 2017-23 -- to allow the company to pass on the burden of Rs6.639 billon to the consumers in its service area under the FCA for September.

However, later the demand for an increase by KE was revised upward on the basis of actual data.

On November 3, Nepra had conducted a public hearing on the K-Electric petition.

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During the hearing, K-Electric had submitted that at the time of submission of its FCA request, the authority's approved fuel rate of XWDISCOs for the month of September was unavailable.

Therefore, K-Electric had used the last available rate in its workings.

The power company, accordingly, had requested that the amount claimed on the account of energy purchased from the CPPA-G was subject to adjustment based on the FCA decision of the authority in the matter of XWDISCOs for September.

The K-Electric also submitted that major reason for the high FCA for September was because of the increase in the prices of RLNG, RFO and coal against the month of June.

After hearing and going through the K-Electric’s data, Nepra had allowed an increase of Rs 3.7571 per unit in the power tariff – an impact of Rs7.22 billion on the consumers.