Electricity tariff likely to go up by Rs1.83 per unit

Electricity tariff likely to go up by Rs1.83 per unit

The caretaker government has started preparations to throw additional burden of Rs33 billion on the power consumers as the electricity tariff is expected to go up by Rs1.83 under fuel charge adjustment (FCA), ARY News reported on Tuesday.

Central Power Purchasing Agency (CPPA) submitted a plea to the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) regarding August’s FCA. The NEPRA will make a decision after a hearing of the plea on September 27.

In August, Rs15.47 billion units were given to the power distribution companies, according to the CPPA, adding that 4.07% of electricity was generated through expensive furnace oil at the expense of Rs33.32 per unit.

It added that 7.6% of electricity was generated through gas, 17.17% through imported LNG, 10.26% from coal, 4.51% from imported coal and 12.79% from nuclear fuel. The overall cost of the electricity generation remained Rs8.47 per unit in August, whereas, the reference cost was Rs6.64 per unit.

Earlier in the month, the strong protests of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) people bore fruit as the government took back its decision to hike the electricity tariff.

The AJK people ran a strong campaign against the hike in electricity tariff in which they observed shutter-down strikes and demonstrations.

The strong protests kept the AJK government on its toes after the citizens refused to pay the inflated electricity bills. The AJK government rejected the amendment to the Mangla Dam Upraising Agreement.

During a press conference, the AJK ministers said that the amendment to the Mangla Dam Upraising Agreement had not gotten any support from the Water & Power Development Authority (WAPDA).

They said that the amendments to the agreement were not under consideration in the AJK cabinet meeting.

A few days ago, Caretaker Federal Minister for Energy, Power and Petroleum Muhammad Ali announced that the revised electricity tariff would be introduced before October 31.

While addressing a press conference alongside Sindh Governor Kamran Tessori, Caretaker Energy Minister Muhammad Ali said the government is taking indiscriminate action against the electricity and gas thieves.

“We are making efforts to control everything. We will try to control the electricity tariff and provide low-cost power to industries from October 31. The inflated bills were received due to electricity theft, whereas, the tariff was hiked due to the increase in USD price.”