Power tariff likely to drop in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: The power tariff is likely to drop in Pakistan by Rs1.30 per Unit for a month bringing hope for electricity consumers in the country, ARY News reported.

The Central Power Purchasing Agency (CPPA) has requested a reduction in the monthly fuel price adjustment for December, which may result in a decrease of Rs1.30 per unit in the power tariff for a month. The CPPA’s petition will be heard tomorrow.

According to the CPPA’s request, the fuel cost per unit of electricity in December was estimated to be Rs10.63, but the actual cost turned out to be Rs9.60 per unit. In December, 7.516 billion units of electricity were provided to Discos.

The power generation breakdown for December reveals that 22.80% of electricity was generated from water, 10.06% from local coal, 1.59% from imported coal, and 0.03% from furnace oil.

Additionally, 12.31% of electricity was generated from local gas, 20.70% from LNG, and 26.48% from nuclear sources.

Last month, the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) issued a notification announcing a 20-paise per unit increase in electricity prices.

According to reports, the increase in electricity prices was part of the quarterly adjustment for the first quarter of the current fiscal year. According to the notification, consumers will bear an additional burden of Rs1.18 billion in electricity prices.

NEPRA had previously finalized the July to September quarterly adjustment and sent the decision to the government.

The increase in electricity prices will be applicable for December 2024 only. However, the adjustment will not apply to lifeline and prepaid electricity consumers. Additionally, under the winter package, consumers using extra electricity will also be exempted from this quarterly adjustment.