Daily Times

The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) on Tuesday approved a Rs3.99 per unit hike in electricity tariff on account of fuel cost adjustment for April 2022.

In a hearing conducted to consider the Central Power Purchasing Agency’s (CPPA) petition for fuel cost adjustment for April 2022, the authority stated that the increase will be applicable on customers for one month only. In the petition, CPPA had demanded Rs4.05 per unit hike in the power tariff.

The Nepra said that the upward revision will apply to customers of all power distribution companies except K-Electric and lifeline energy consumers. A detailed decision will be issued by the authority after thorough investigation.

“Customers are a priority for us and they are suffering due to soaring fuel costs,” said Nepra Chairman Tauseef H Farooqi. “Expensive fuel cost is causing an increase in electricity prices,” he said. Prices of coal and furnace oil are soaring in the international market, he added.

He expressed concern that some areas of the country are experiencing 18 hours of load shedding per day. He directed power companies to focus on resolving all the problems related to the power sector. Farooqi asked participants not to prioritise those power plants in the economic merit order that do not receive gas.

He was informed that cheaper power plants had suspended production due to absence of fuel supply. The possible impact has been calculated at over Rs52 billion.

The CPPA-G said that the actual cost remained Rs 10.6641 per unit against the reference fuel charges of Rs6.6087 per unit during April. It is pertinent to mention that a total of 12,960.41 GWh electricity was generated worth Rs 132.74bn during the said period while 12,556.37 GWh net electricity was supplied to the power distribution companies (DISCOs).

Out of total generation, as many as 18.55pc of electricity was generated from hydel, 16.74pc coal, 12.07pc furnace oil, 9.85pc local gas, 19.42pc RLNG, 17.37pc nuclear, and 3.59pc wind.

Last month, Nepra approved a hike of Rs2.86 per unit on power tariff as part of its fuel cost adjustment (FCA) for March 2022. This placed a monthly burden of over Rs28.9 billion on the country’s electricity consumers other than those served by K-Electric.

Recently, Federal Minister for Power Khurram Dastgir Khan said that the electricity tariff would go up for the time being due to high international oil prices. He underlined that the government was mulling to shift to solar generation instead of coal generation to achieve a cost-effective energy mix.