Nepra approves electricity tariff hike of Re0.20 per unit for quarterly adjustments

• Re 0.1957 per unit shall also be charged from KE consumers.
• Uniform rate of Re.0.1957 per unit to be charged in December.
• Nepra announces price hike through a notification.

KARACHI: Owing to quarterly adjustments for the first quarter of financial year 2024–2025, the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) has informed consumers of Ex-Wapda Discos (XWDiscos) and K-Electric of a rise of Re 0.20 per unit on electricity, The News reported.

“The authority has decided to allow positive quarterly adjustments of Rs1,187 million about the 1st quarter (July to September) of the FY 2024-25, in December 2024, at a uniform rate of Re.0.1957 per unit,” read a notification of the Nepra here Wednesday.

Accordingly, the instant quarterly adjustment of Re 0.1957 per unit shall also be charged from the consumers of K-Electric, to be recovered in December 2024, the notification said.

The Nepra on September 6 approved an additional charge of Rs1.743 per unit for the next three months starting in September 2024, allowing distribution companies and K-Electric to recover Rs43.23 billion through quarterly adjustments for the fourth quarter (April-June) of fiscal year 2023-24.

At the heart of this recovery lied a hefty Rs21.253 billion, or nearly half of the total amount, earmarked for capacity charges — payments that go to independent power producers (IPPs) to ensure generation capacity is maintained, regardless of how much electricity is consumed.

Notably, the imposition of an 18% GST on the total recovery amount would further inflate the burden by Rs7.78 billion, raising the total to Rs51 billion to be collected from consumers.