Nepra agreed on electricity tariff hike by Rs1.16 per unit

ISLAMABAD: An augmentation is accepted by The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) on Wednesday, for the electricity tariff by Rs1.16 per unit.

This electricity tariff elevation is approved on an appeal filed by the Central Power Purchasing Agency (CPPA) under fuel modification for August. According to sources, it is observed that previously CPPA had requested a hike of Rs. 1.50 in the electricity prices.

The price hike in tariff will be applicable to all power distribution companies, but K-Electric is not included in this.

On Tuesday, the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) had postponed the declaration related to price hike in electricity tariff till their next meeting.

According to sources, it is declared that ECC will have to take consent from Prime Minister Imran Khan for their decision of tariff elevation prior to the meeting.

Asad Umar, the Finance Minister, who is also chairman ECC, has demanded a clear plan resulting in the diminishing of losses and enhancement in the recuperation of bills before ECC declares their go ahead for the hike in electricity tariff .

Furthermore, ECC had directed NEPRA and the Power Divisions to present the policy for the next 3-5 years during their next meeting.

Recently the government had amplified the natural gas prices by almost 143 percent in order to recuperate Rs94 billion from consumers, in consequence ripping consumer funding that were a fiscal drag on the government’s budget.

It is believed that this verdict has hurt around 9.4 million domestic users, as 3.6 million of them falls in the category of lowest income and the other 2.63 million are a part of second lowest income cluster.

According to decision, it is observed that ECC of the cabinet permitted heave in the gas prices for domestic consumers in the range of 10% for the lowest income holders to 143% for the highest income holders domestic consumers.

According to data released on Pakistan’s circular debt last week, it states that mainly Rs1.2 trillion plus circular debt is due to unprofessional conduct of the former Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government, also the planning was deficient, and no proper strategy was being conducted.

According to report, “The previous government drafted a ‘Power Electricity Policy and Plan 2018’, it only has a policy but no specific plan.”