By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s power regulator signed off on two separate increases to electricity charges that will show up in consumers’ bills over the coming months, adding fresh strain to household budgets already stretched by elevated energy costs.
The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority approved a positive fuel charges adjustment of Rs2.0581 per unit tied to electricity consumed in July, an increase that will be recovered from customers of former WAPDA distribution companies and K-Electric in their September bills. The regulator determined the actual fuel cost component for July at Rs9.1511 per kilowatt-hour, well above the Rs7.0929 reference rate built into tariffs, producing the gap that consumers will now cover.
The adjustment approved Friday came in below the Rs2.52 per unit that distribution companies had sought, according to Nepra, which reached its determination after holding a public hearing on the companies’ petitions.
The fuel charge will apply broadly across consumer categories served by the former WAPDA distribution companies and K-Electric, with exemptions carved out for lifeline consumers, electric vehicle charging stations, and customers who have opted into prepaid tariff arrangements. Consumers billed under the government’s Incremental Consumption Package will also see the adjustment applied, Nepra said.
Distribution companies have been instructed to itemize the July adjustment separately in September bills rather than folding it into base charges, with the amount calculated against units billed during July. Nepra said that where September bills had already gone out before its decision was formally notified, companies may instead recover the adjustment the following month. The regulator also directed distribution companies and K-Electric to ensure their implementation of the charge complies with any relevant court orders.
Nepra said the adjustment approved for the former WAPDA companies will extend to K-Electric customers as well, citing federal government policy that calls for uniform fuel charge adjustments across K-Electric’s service territory to match those applied elsewhere.
The fuel charge adjustment lands on top of a separate quarterly tariff adjustment Nepra approved for the April-to-June period, a positive adjustment of Rs0.5194 per unit — roughly 52 paise — that will be spread across consumer bills over three months, from September through November.
That quarterly adjustment will apply uniformly across consumer categories, including K-Electric customers, though lifeline consumers are again excluded. Customers under the incremental consumption package and those on prepaid tariffs will also see the adjustment applied, according to Nepra’s order.
Together, the two adjustments mean consumers across most categories will absorb higher charges across multiple billing cycles this autumn, compounding pressure on household and business budgets that have already been under strain from elevated energy costs.
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