By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: The country’s power regulator on Monday allowed K-Electric (KE) to ratchet up the tariff for the load-shedding-battered consumers by Rs9.66/unit, a second such increase in a short span of time.
The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) has given approval to this big increase in power prices when the masses are getting ground between the millstones of record-high inflation and stagnant incomes.
According to a statement, this hike is a result of monthly fuel charge adjustment (FCA) for the month of May.
The monthly FCA for May 2022 is unusually high because of a jump in the prices of furnace oil and power purchased from the Central Power Purchasing Agency (CPPA). The price of furnace oil in May 2022 increased by 38 percent compared to March 2022, while the price of Re-gasified Liquefied Natural Gas (RLNG) surged 50 percent in the same period.
Nepra is expected to issue a detailed decision after reviewing the data.
Tauseef H Farooqi, Chairman Nepra, chaired the hearing with authority’s members Rafique Ahmed Shaikh and Anwar Maqsood in attendance.
During the hearing, Chairman NEPRA said if the company was experiencing difficulties in providing cheap electricity then it may seek the electricity regulatory authority’s help.
“We are ready to talk to the federal and provincial governments for cheap electricity,” he added.
Earlier, the power utility had asked the regulator to allow it to raise the power tariff by a massive Rs11.34/unit on account of fuel charge adjustment for the month of May 2022.
Nepra has already set the power rate for the fiscal year 2022–2023 at Rs24.82/unit, following a significant increase of Rs7.91/unit.
On June 25, Nepra had granted K-Electric permission to increase Rs5.27/unit in the electricity tariff of K-Electric on account of the fuel cost adjustment for April 2022.
The lifeline consumers of K-Electric are immune to this change of tariff, which will be applicable for one month only.
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