Govt Asks NEPRA to Increase Karachi’s Electricity Bills by Rs. 10.32 Per Unit

The federal government has officially asked the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) to okay the transfer of three quarterly tariff adjustments (QTAs) accrued in the previous fiscal year to K-Electric consumers, a move that would increase their electricity bills by over Rs. 10 per unit.

NEPRA will conduct a public hearing for the upward revision of power tariffs pertaining to QTAs accumulated in 2022-23. According to the Ministry of Energy’s request to the regulator, charges of up to Rs. 4.45 per unit for the first quarter, Rs. 0.4689 per unit for the second quarter, and Rs. 5.41 per unit for the fourth quarter are included.

If approved, K-Electric customers will see an aggregate hike of Rs. 10.32 per unit in their electricity bills in the coming months.

In a petition submitted to NEPRA, the federal government has requested the regulator’s policy guidelines under Section 7 and Section 31 of the NEPRA Act 1997 for the recovery of quarterly tariff adjustments, expected to be implemented from September through December 2023.

Furthermore, the Energy Ministry has issued policy guidelines clarifying the consistent application of quarterly adjustments for consumers of state-run DISCOs and K-Electric.

The Ministry has encouraged NEPRA to revisit its judgment on the first QTA, which was issued on May 22, 2023. Following the tariff rationalization requested on March 17, 2023, the Energy Ministry seeks a separate SoT for K-Electric, comprising the projected application of relevant uniform rates. This is set to cover power bills for February-March 2023, with consumer recovery scheduled for September and October 2023.

It bears mentioning that in response to the IMF’s reservations on the government’s proposal to provide relief to the poor against inflated power bills, Pakistan had earlier requested that upcoming QTAs and Fuel Price Adjustments be staggered over the next four to six months.

However, following the government’s declaration that bill collection for August was close to estimates, the lender has now ruled out any subsidy support.