NEPRA notifies Rs2.32 per unit cut in power tariff

ISLAMABAD: The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) on Thursday notified a reduction of Rs2.32 per unit for Ex-WAPDA distribution companies (XWDISCOs) consumers on account of fuel charges adjustment (FCA) for December 2022.

The development comes a day after the federal government dropped a “petrol bomb” on the masses by increasing the price to Rs272 per litre after a hike of Rs22.20. Meanwhile, it sharply increased the natural gas tariff by up to 112% for consumers.

The negative power tariff adjustment will give some breathing space to the inflation-weary people reeling from the impact of sky-high petrol and gas prices.

According to a notification issued in this regard, the NEPRA directed all XWDiscos to show the adjustment separately in the consumer’s bills for February.

This shall apply to all consumer categories except:

• Lifelines consumers
• Domestic consumers who consume up to 300 units
• Agriculture consumers
• Electric vehicle charging stations

It was also clarified that the negative adjustment on account of monthly FCA applies to domestic consumers having Time of Use (ToU) metres irrespective of their consumption level.

“The said adjustment shall be shown separately in the consumers’ bills on the basis of units billed to the consumers in the month of December 2022,” it read.

The FCA is based on changes in the global prices of fuel and is passed on to consumers under the prescribed rules and regulations of NEPRA and the government of Pakistan.

The recommendation proposed by the power distribution companies is approved by NEPRA after a thorough review of the data provided for a month during which the fuel charges were recovered from the consumers.

Earlier, the power regulator also notified a reduction of Rs10.8 per unit for the K-Electric consumers for the month of December 2022 which would also be reflected in the consumer bills of February 2023.