Daily Times

The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) told ex-Wapda distribution firms (Discos) on Friday that they can charge Rs9.90 per unit additional fuel cost adjustment (FCA) on energy sold in June in order to recover an additional Rs132 billion in August.

In a statement, the regulator stated that it “has examined and assessed an increase of Rs9.8972 per kWh (kilowatt-hour) in the relevant rate for Discos due to fluctuation in fuel prices for June.” According to the letter, the extra FCA will apply to all consumer categories excluding lifeline clients and will be presented individually on bills based on units invoiced to consumers in June and reflected on August bills.

The Central Power Purchasing Agency (CPPA), a subsidiary of the Power Division, had filed a plea on behalf of Discos for a record Rs9.91 per unit extra monthly FCA, but Nepra allowed Rs9.90, which is about 166pc more than the reference fuel cost invoiced to customers in June. It is also a historically massive difference between predicted and actual gasoline prices. According to data, despite 52 percent of electricity generation from cheaper domestic resources with unchanged pricing, Discos fuel costs grew by almost Rs133 billion in June.

According to the CPPA, Discos charged consumers a reference fuel cost of Rs5.93 per unit in June, while the real cost was Rs15.84 per unit, resulting in an extra price of around Rs9.91 per unit to consumers. Nepra calculated the real fuel cost to be Rs15.83 per unit. Domestic fuel sources accounted for 52 percent of total power output in June, down from 54 percent in May but still higher than 50 percent in April and 45 percent in March. The percentage of hydropower supplies in the entire basket remained nearly steady in May, at just than 24 percent. Hydropower requires no fuel.

Because of the closure of the 1,100MW K-2 for refuelling, the percentage of nuclear electricity plummeted over 50% to 9pc in June from 13pc in May and 17.37pc in April. As a result, imported RLNG-based power plants contributed more than 24.43 percent of total electricity supply, partially at exorbitant rates, and its proportion was nominally greater than 23 percent in May. Domestic gas’s share in power generation grew to about 11 percent in June, up from 10 percent in May and April.

The percentage of coal-fired power plants remained nearly stable at 13.6 percent in June and May, but was much lower than 16.74 percent in April and 25 percent in March due to limited coal supplies, financial constraints for power producers, and higher worldwide pricing. Coal-fired generating generated 33 percent and 32 percent of total power supply in January and February, respectively.