ISLAMABAD: The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) on Tuesday notified about eight paise per unit additional fuel cost adjustment (FCA) in power tariff for ex-Wapda Discos for one month and cleared about 51 paise per unit increase for K-Electric for three months under quarterly tariff adjustment (QTA).

The “adjustment of Rs0.0819/kWh shall apply to all the consumer categories except Electric Vehicle Charging Stations (EVCS) and lifeline consumers of all the ex-Discos,” read a notification issued by Nepra on Tuesday.

The said adjustment shall be shown separately in consumers’ bills based on units billed to the consumers in September, the regulator said, adding these charges would be part of November bills.

The Central Power Purchasing Agency (CPPA) on behalf of 10 Discos had filed a petition for about 20 paise per unit increase in FCA to mop up about Rs2.5 billion additional revenue in the current month.

It claimed that the consumers were charged a reference fuel cost of Rs9.91 per unit in September, but the actual cost turned out to be Rs10.12 per unit, hence an additional charge of about 20 paise per unit to consumers.

The regulator, however, worked out the actual fuel cost in September at Rs9.99 per unit, hence an increase of about eight paise per unit.

Separately, the regulator on Tuesday cleared a request of the federal government to pass on 51 paise per unit increase in tariff for KE consumers on account of QTA for the January-March period. At a public hearing, the regulator did not announce the date of the higher QTA application that would form part of the formal notification.

Earlier, Nepra had recommended a Rs3.55 per unit increase in KE’s tariff against a demand of Rs3.90 per unit for the said quarter. The increase was supposed to be adjusted against tariff differential subsidy (TDS) but the government later reported about 51 paise per unit increase would have to be passed on to the consumers after adjustment of TDS in line with the national uniform tariff average.

The government had asked Nepra through a revised petition to pass on 51 paise per unit increase in electricity rates for KE consumers except for domestic lifeline with effect from November to January 2023. Through the petition, Nepra had asked to issue a modified schedule of tariffs to maintain the same rate across the country as the base tariff for Discos had already been notified last year.

Published in Dawn, November 9th, 2022