ISLAMABAD: The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) on Friday notified a reduction of Rs5.13 per unit for K-Electric consumers on account of fuel cost adjustment (FCA) for electricity consumed in September.

Under the notification, KE is now required to refund about Rs8.6 billion to consumers through adjustment in the current billing month, i.e. November.

The revised rate would apply to all the consumer categories except lifeline domestic consumers consuming up to 300 units, agriculture consumers and electric vehicle charging station (EVCS) consumers of K-Electric.

The negative adjustment on account of monthly FCA is also applicable to the domestic consumers having Time of Use (ToU) meters irrespective of their consumption level. K-Electric shall reflect the fuel charges adjustment in November bills, the notification said.

Nepra notifies a tariff cut of Rs5.13 per unit for September

At a public hearing on Oct 25, the regulator announced a negative FCA of Rs4.70 per unit (Rs7.78bn) against KE’s petition for Rs4.62 per unit (Rs7.74bn). In subsequent verification of evidence, Nepra notified a Rs5.13 per unit reduction or a cumulative refund of about Rs8.6bn.

Among other things, regarding the cost of energy purchased from the national grid, KE had claimed Rs10.1160 per unit which stood at Rs9.99 per unit as approved by Nepra for other distribution companies.

This resulted in a decrease in total fuel cost by around Rs95 million.

This is the third month in a row that FCA for KE’s consumers was lower than the reference tariff. This partly reduced the burden of record-breaking increases in FCAs over the past many months going beyond Rs11 per unit. Last month, KE’s FCA was lower by Rs4.89 per unit when compared with reference fuel cost with a revenue impact of Rs8.4bn.

The reduction in FCA is chiefly because of an increase in nationwide uniform base tariff that has gone up by Rs7 per unit in August and about 91 paise per unit in October. According to KE, the fuel cost was lower in September compared to June primarily due to a decrease in fuel prices.

The KE said the price of power purchased from the Central Power Purchasing Agency (CPPA) in September decreased by 36pc from June. Similarly, for RLNG, the price in September was down by 13pc from June when the reference fuel rates were set.

For furnace oil, the price in September slightly increased by 2pc from June.

Published in Dawn, November 12th, 2022