The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) has notified a power tariff hike of Rs1.61 per unit on account of fuel charges adjustment (FCA) for April 2023.

According to a notification issued by Nepra, the tariff hike will not be applicable to lifeline consumers and electric vehicle charging stations while power distribution companies (DISCOs) will show the increase in power price separately in consumer bills of June 2023.

Moreover, DISCOs will display the approved FCA separately in the consumer bills on the basis of units billed in April 2023.

“While applying the fuel charges adjustment, the DISCOs concerned shall keep in view and strictly comply with the orders of courts, notwithstanding this order,” said the notification.

Power consumers across the country will face an additional burden as Nepra has granted approval for tariff hike for the customers of all DISCOs except K-Electric.

Earlier, the Central Power Purchasing Agency (CPPA), on behalf of DISCOs, filed a petition seeking Nepra’s approval for tariff increase of Rs2.01 per kilowatt hour (kWh).

According to the CPPA’s application, a total of 10,010.30 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of energy was generated in April at a cost of Rs10.2384 per kWh. Of this, 9,734.91 GWh was delivered to DISCOs at a cost of Rs10.3975/kWh.

CPPA provided detailed information about energy production from various sources during April, including hydel, coal, furnace oil, gas, re-gasified liquefied natural gas (RLNG), nuclear, mixed sources, wind, bagasse, solar and electricity import from Iran.

On May 31, Nepra conducted a hearing to review the proposed tariff adjustment for DISCOs.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 14^th, 2023.

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