The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) is likely to increase electricity prices in the coming months, which may add to the challenges faced by people dealing with high costs of living, as reported by The News.
State-owned power distribution companies (Discos) have formally asked Nepra to approve the recovery of Rs81.5 billion from consumers. This sought-after recovery is related to various adjustments for the second quarter of the fiscal year 2023-24, covering October to December 2023. A significant part of this, about 92.2% or Rs75.1 billion, is for capacity charges from power consumers to be paid to private power generators.
Once Nepra determines the additional charges per unit for Discos, the same will apply to K-Electric as well. According to the federal government’s guidelines, this second quarterly tariff adjustment (QTA) for FY2023-24 will also apply to K-Electric’s customers.
Nepra has scheduled a public hearing on the petition for February 14, 2024. Discos, in their petition, have requested a tariff increase for various reasons, including capacity charges, transmission charges, the impact of incremental units, market operation fees, the impact of transmission and distribution (T&D) losses on FCA, and other variable operation and maintenance charges for the quarter.
The requested additional adjustments include amounts from different electric companies, such as Islamabad Electric Company (Iesco), Lahore Electric Supply Company (Lesco), Gujranwala Electric Power Company (Gepco), Faisalabad Electric Supply Company (Fesco), Multan Electric Company (Mepco), Peshawar Electric Supply Company (Pesco), Hyderabad Electric Supply Company (Hesco), Quetta Electric Supply Company (Qesco), Sukkur Electric Power Company (Sepco), and Tribal Electric Supply Company (Tesco).
These recoveries, totaling Rs81.5 billion, include charges for capacity, use of system, market operator fee, T&D losses, and other adjustments. These recoveries are intended to cover Discos’ inefficiencies, power losses, and theft in systems, and loyal consumers will bear these costs. Additionally, consumers face the burden of multiple taxes on these additional charges, with the 18% GST alone adding up to Rs14.67 billion for power consumers.
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