NEPRA okays Rs1.71 per unit hike in power tariff

Raise approved on account of FCA for August

ISLAMABAD:

The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) has approved an increase in the price of electricity by Rs1.71 per unit on account of Fuel Cost Adjustment (FCA) for the month of August 2023 and issued a notification in this regard.

The tariff hike will be shown separately in the consumers’ bills and the effects of this raise will be reflected in the bills of October 2023.

The notification stated that the increase will not apply to lifeline and K-Electric consumers.

The FCA for August will have an additional burden of approximately Rs31 billion on the consumers of power distribution companies (Discos). This surge in power tariff is set to impact all consumer categories, sources said.

Read More: NEPRA okays Rs3.28 tariff hike

Earlier, the Central Power Purchasing Agency (CPPA) on behalf of Discos except K-Electric had asked Nepra to approve Rs1.8290 per kilowatt hour (kWh) hike in the power tariff on account of FCA for the month of August.

On September 27, Nepra’s hearing was held on CPPA’s application under the chairmanship of Waseem Mukhtar wherein power regulator’s members Sindh, Punjab, Balochistan and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa also participated. However, the authority did not take any decision.

The CPPA, in its application, submitted that total electricity generated with various fuels during the month of August was recorded at 15,959GWh (Gigawatt hour), at a price of Rs8.2654 per unit. The total cost of energy was Rs131,910 million.

Read More: NEPRA ups tariff by Rs1.46/unit

The power generation with hydel source was 6,006GWh constituting 37.63 per cent while power production with coal-fired power plants was 2,357GWh (local + imported coal: 1,638+ 719GWh) which was 14.77 per cent of the total generation at a price of Rs20.1430 per unit and power generation with RFO was 649GWh 4.51 per cent of total generation calculated at Rs33.3227 per unit.

Similarly, the power generation from gas-based power plants was 1,214GWh, 7.60 per cent of the total generation, totalling Rs13.2190 per unit.

The generation from re-gasified liquefied natural gas (RLNG) was 2,741GWh, which was 17.17 per cent of total generation, at Rs23.7148 per unit.

Likewise, the power production from bagasse was recorded at 38GWh, the price of which has been calculated at Rs5.9822 per unit.

Electricity generated from wind was recorded at 8.5GWh, 5.05 per cent of total generation and solar at 84GWh, 0.53 per cent of the total generation in August 2023.

Moreover, electricity generation from nuclear sources was 2,040GWh which came out at Rs1.1725 per unit, 12.79 per cent of the total generation, and electricity imported from Iran was 26GWh that amounted to Rs25.0981 per unit, 0.16 per cent of the total power generation in the said month.

It is also learnt from the data submitted by the CCPA-G with Nepra that net electricity delivered to Discos in August was 15,472 GWh (96.95 per cent) at a rate of Rs8.4746 per unit, the total price of which was Rs131,118 million.

The CPPA-G in its tariff adjustment request advocated that the reference fuel charges for August were fixed at Rs6.6457 per unit while the actual fuel charges were recorded at Rs8.4747 per unit, therefore, seeking an increase of Rs1.8290 per unit in the power tariff for the month of August under the FCA mechanism.

However, Nepra on Thursday approved an increase of Rs1.71 per unit in electricity price for the consumers of Discos except K-Electric under the FCA for August.