Power tariff increased further by Rs1.77 per unit

Electricity companies expected to recover an additional Rs14b.

ISLAMABAD: The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) has allowed power distribution companies to raise tariff by Rs1.77 per unit on account of fuel price adjustment for September.

This increase in tariff will be adjusted in electricity bills of October. For July and August, Nepra has already announced an accumulated tariff increase of Rs5.08 per unit to adjust the variation in fuel prices.

The tariff hike came in response to a petition filed by the Central Power Purchasing Agency (CPPA), seeking an upward revision in power prices on the basis of difference between the cost of power generation and the tariff charged from consumers in September.

According to Nepra, power distribution companies will recover Rs14.19 billion to meet their expenses following the increase in tariff.

At a public hearing at Nepra’s office here on Thursday, the petitioner said 8.11 billion electricity units were sold to power distribution companies in September and Rs46.04 billion was spent on purchase of fuel for electricity production.

It said during the month 3,750 gigawatt hours (Gwh) of electricity was generated through hydel resources, 150 Gwh through high-speed diesel, 2,324 Gwh through furnace oil, 207.4 Gwh through nuclear resources and 4 Gwh through wind energy.

It was observed that the Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) failed to maintain hydropower resources. For September, Nepra had projected fuel cost at Rs3.86 per unit for power generation but actual cost stood higher at Rs5.67 per unit.

Nepra expressed dismay at purchase of electricity at high prices from rental power plants and independent power producers and asked CPPA to provide details of penalties imposed on rental plants because of operational delay at a time of power crisis.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 4^th,  2011.