An increase in the Karachi electricity bills will be observed because the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) has decided to raise the power price by Rs4.45 per unit for K-Electric (KE) consumers. This decision on Karachi electricity bills was made as part of the first quarterly adjustment of the last financial year.

Increment in Karachi electricity bills

Additionally, the increment in Karachi electricity bills will be added to their October and November 2023 bills.

Furthermore, NEPRA has allowed the inclusion of actual or reasonable expenses related to the temporary operation of Unit-3 of Bin Qasim Power Station (BQPS-I) from May 1 to August 15, 2021, in cost calculations. This adjustment modifies previous decisions regarding this matter.

In response to this decision, Mathar Niaz Rana, a member of the authority, expressed concerns about KE’s efficiency and the use of Unit 3 of BQPS-I, which led to extra fuel expenses. Rana argued that these additional costs due to inefficiency should not be passed on to consumers.

Nepra conducted a public hearing on January 25, 2023, where KE explained their choice to temporarily use Unit-3 of BQPS-1 to meet Karachi’s peak summer demand, rather than resorting to more expensive power generation methods or implementing power outages, in the best interest of consumers.

After careful consideration, Nepra observed that the delays in the commissioning of BQPS-III and the subsequent interim use of Unit-3 of BQPS-1 were due to KE’s poor performance. Accordingly, Nepra initially restricted the charges for the interim operation of Unit-3 of BQPS-1 to the level of BQPS-III.

Nepra also noted that KE had already operated Unit-3 of BQPS-1 when the decision on the Licensee Proposed Modification (LPM) was issued in September 2021. A fine of Rs200 million had also been imposed on KE for previous issues. Therefore, to avoid double penalties, Nepra concluded that KE should not face additional charges.

In light of the Appellate Tribunal’s judgment and KE’s submissions, the Authority believes that a licensee should recover reasonable costs to meet their needs, as per Section-31(3)(a) of the Nepra Act. If the Authority allowed the interim operation of Unit-3 of BQPS-I in the public interest, the operational costs should be considered reasonable and allowed.

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