Another power shock

In another shock for K-Electric customers, the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) has announced an increase of Rs5.75 per unit, citing fuel cost adjustments for May and June 2024. The power regulator says that due to the monthly fuel cost adjustment mechanism, the electricity tariff will be increased by Rs2.59 per unit for May and Rs3.16 per unit for June. This increase comes after the recent blanket increase of Rs9 per unit in power tariff, further burdening lower and middle-class consumers. In recent years, electricity prices have surged significantly to assist power distributors in managing financial pressures from currency devaluation, interest rate increases, higher fixed capacity charges, transmission and distribution losses, and power theft. As a result, consumers are not only paying more for electricity generation and distribution but also bearing the costs associated with system inefficiencies. It's no surprise that electricity theft is increasing and consumption is decreasing, as electricity has become unaffordable for many working-class people. Their purchasing power has nearly halved over the past two years due to stagnant incomes and record-high inflation.

It has reached a point where the average power consumer now has to cut back on groceries and other necessary expenses to pay monthly electricity bills. Conditions agreed upon with the IMF have left the authorities with no other option but to increase the burden on the masses. Over the last decade or more, not one government has tried to tackle the inefficiencies in the power generation sector or even attempted to renegotiate contracts with Independent Power Producers. As the economy stagnates, energy prices soar and incomes lag significantly behind rampant inflation, ordinary Pakistanis are likely to sink further into an unprecedented social and economic crisis. Those in the corridors of power must realise that public anger is increasing every day and the tipping point may not be too far.