The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) approved on Wednesday a hike of Rs. 2.87 per unit on power tariff as part of its fuel cost adjustment (FCA) for March 2022. This will place a burden of over Rs. 28.9 billion on electricity consumers other than those served by K-Electric in the bills for the month of May.
A petition was filed by Central Power Purchasing Agency (CPPA) to the NEPRA to increase the power tariff by Rs. 3.16 per unit for March. NEPRA conducted a hearing to consider the proposal and approved an increase of Rs. 2.87 per unit on account of monthly fuel cost adjustments. The authority will issue a notification after a detailed analysis.
The monthly FCA saw an increase of Rs. 4.85 per unit for the month of February. The March determination is Rs. 1.98 per unit is less than the FCA determined for February, which would be charged in the bills of May.
The CPPA informed that over 10 billion units of electricity were generated in March, 16.35 percent from water, 24.83 percent from coal, and 10.62 percent from expensive furnace oil.
According to the CPPA, 9.53 percent of electricity was generated from domestic gas, 18.87 percent from imported LNG, and 15.01 percent from nuclear fuel.
The issue of power loadshedding also came under consideration during the NEPRA hearing.
NEPRA Chairman Tauseef H Farooqui enquired about nonfunctional power plants and showed displeasure on continued loadshedding in the country.
NEPRA officials questioned why no fuel was provided for the power plants. Officials at the National Power Control Center (NPCC) responded that the rising temperatures had increased the demand for electricity. Chairman NEPRA dismissed the justification and asked the officials to submit a detailed report on how many power plants are dysfunctional.
