The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) has lowered electricity prices for the month of April 2021 by Rs0.44 per unit under fuel price adjustment. NEPRA Chairman Tauseef H Farooqi announced this on Wednesday, saying: “A decline of Rs0.87 per unit was recommended for the month of April 2021, however, after deduction of dues amounting to Rs0.43 per unit, the decline in price stands at Rs0.44 per unit.” He said that an advantage of Rs4.40 billion has been conveyed to the masses through lowering the electricity charges. Earlier in the day, the NEPRA concluded a public hearing into monthly fuel cost adjustment (FCA) for April. The hearing was presided over by NEPRA Chairman Tauseef H Farooqi. Member Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Engineer Masood Anwar Khan and Member Balochistan Rehmatullah were also present on the occasion. The Central Power Purchase Agency (CPPA-G) on behalf of X-WAPDA DISCOs in a petition sought reduction of 86 paisa per unit for April under monthly fuel adjustment mechanism. The NEPRA calculated a decrease of 87.59 paisa per unit in the tariff. In the petition, the CPPA maintained that the actual fuel charges remained Rs 5.7860 per unit against the reference fuel charges of Rs 6.6087 per unit during the said period. However, after adjustment of previously deducted amount of Rs 4.473 million, it was proposed to pass on the benefit of 43.71 paisa to the consumers. The consumers would get a benefit of Rs4.47 billion on account of FCA adjustment for the month of April. Regarding maintenance during summer, the Chairman suggested carrying out a specialized audit report in order to improve CPPA working. The chairman said a system has been devised to prepare a monthly report on circular debt with the assistance of the ministry. A monthly report into circular debt was being prepared, he added. The regulator would announce its decision by Friday after reviewing statistics provided by CPPA. In the petition, the CPPA maintained that the actual fuel charges remained Rs 5.7860 per unit against the reference fuel charges of Rs 6.6087 per unit during the said period. It was informed that a total of 10,193.56 GWh electricity, costing Rs 58.79 billion was generated during April.