By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Electricity consumers are facing a double whammy of rising costs and declining demand, as the government seeks to stagger the imposition of a hefty quarterly tariff adjustment to ease the price shock.
The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority, or Nepra, held a public hearing on Wednesday to consider the government’s request for an additional charge of Rs5.4 per unit for the April-June quarter, which would amount to Rs146 billion in total.
The Power Division, however, proposed to spread the charge over six months, instead of three, and to apply it after September, when an existing quarterly adjustment of Rs1.24 per unit would expire.
The Power Division also asked Nepra to apply the same rates for K-Electric Ltd., the sole power supplier in Karachi, the country’s largest city and economic hub, without a separate hearing process. The move was based on a policy guideline approved by the previous government led by Shehbaz Sharif, who stepped down as prime minister earlier this month after the parliament completed its five-year term.
Nepra did not make an immediate decision on both requests and said it would examine them in the light of written requests, records and relevant legal instruments.
Nepra officials expressed concern over the 13 percent drop in electricity sales by distribution companies in the April-June quarter, compared to the estimated level. The dip has added almost Rs150 billion in cost to remaining consumers.
Nepra Member Rafique A. Shaikh said it was a matter of grave concern that rising electricity costs had put the power sector in a vicious cycle of declining consumption and shifting additional capacity charges to consumers.
He said the government should take measures to revive industrial activity and reduce circular debt in the power sector.
Pakistan’s power sector has been plagued by chronic problems such as inefficiency, theft, corruption and under-investment. The country has faced frequent blackouts and load-shedding in the past, affecting millions of households and businesses. The government has been trying to reform the sector and attract private investment, but progress has been slow and uneven.
The latest quarterly tariff adjustment comes after Nepra notified a 26 percent increase in base national rates last month, which sparked public outcry.
Copyright © 2021 Independent Pakistan | All rights reserved
