The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) on Thursday proposed 89 paisas per unit increase in the electricity tariff in the context of January’s fuel price adjustment. NEPRA Vice-Chairperson Saifullah Chatha presided over a hearing of a plea filed by the Central Power Purchasing Agency (CPPA) on February 19 requesting an increase of Rs0.92 in the electricity tariff. During the hearing, NEPRA officials said that running power plants outside the merit order had imposed an additional burden of Rs3.90 billion on consumers. “The reason for the increase in the cost of power generation was the unavailability of gas, which was worst in January,” the official added. “If gas had been available, there would not have been a blackout on January 9.” The NEPRA added that 450 million cubic feet per day (MMcfd) gas was required for power plants in January whereas 110 to 154 MMcfd gas was supplied till January 24.