K-Electric tariff reduced by Rs2.45 per unit

The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) on Wednesday allowed K-Electric (KE) to cut its power tariff by Rs2.45/unit on account of monthly Fuel Charges Adjustment (FCA).

In a public hearing, held to for KE’s petition on monthly FCA for October, the regulator had initially calculated a reduction of Rs2.15/unit. After detailed analysis of the KE data and making adjustments, however, the regulator approved a reduction of Rs2.45/unit in the tariff.

For the month of October, KE had requested the regulator allow the company to return Rs1.883/unit back to its consumers on account of monthly FCA.

In its decision, the regulator noted that regarding the cost of energy purchased from the Central Power Purchasing Agency (CPPA-G) during the current month, KE had used the rate of Rs9.4162/unit. The authority’s approved fuel cost component for DISCOs, however, is Rs8.8492/unit for the current month. Accordingly, this has resulted in a decrease in total fuel cost by around Rs438 million.

KE vide its FCA claim for October 2022 had requested for the release of Rs700 million, withheld on account of EMO violations over the period of June 2021 to August 2022. Nepra decided to release a total of Rs184.63 million on account of previous adjustments and the shortage of high-speed diesel.

According to KE, the negative FCA for October 2022 is primarily due to a decrease in the price of RLNG, furnace oil, and power purchased from CPPA-G.

The price of RLNG in Oct decreased by 16% as compared to Sept, furnace oil decreased by 6% and the price of power purchased from CPPA-G decreased by 6%.