Consumers to pay Rs2.8 per unit extra in May power bills

ISLAMABAD: The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) Wednesday allowed ex-Wapda power distribution companies (XWDISCOs) to collect Rs2.8372 per unit additional from consumers in their May 2024 bills.

In March, power consumers paid less than what was the cost of power generation, especially from costly imported fuel. This mechanism is called monthly fuel cost adjustment (FCA). Now, these utility companies will collect accumulative over Rs25 billion from consumers.

Notably, on April 26, Nepra held a public hearing on the petition of Central Power Purchasing Agency (CPPA-G) on behalf of XWDISCOs. It had requested Rs2.94/unit positive fuel charges adjustments (FCA) for March 2024.

In its decision released on Wednesday, Nepra said the increase in power price would apply to all consumer categories except for electric vehicle charging stations (EVCS) and lifeline consumers of all DISCOs. The said adjustment would be shown separately in bills based on units billed in the month of May 2024.

During the proceedings, in response to an inquiry, CPPA-G’s CEO stated that actual generation for FY2023-24 was 7.4 percent lower cumulatively until March 2024 compared to generation assumed in the reference tariff. Power consumption by domestic consumers (residential) was reduced by 11.3 percent, commercial by 2.8 percent, industrial by 4.5 percent and bulk by 34.5 percent.

The utilization of Thar coal power plants remained at approximately 48 percent in March 2024, attributed to considerations of system stability and demand patterns. NTDC explained that the curtailment of these plants during the month was due to insufficient demand and load management. They added that limitations in the HVDC corridor, combined with system stability concerns, resulted in reduced dispatch of specific plants.

CPPA-G addressed the financial impact of operating Guddu 747 on an open cycle, noting a rate difference of approximately Rs3.6/kWh compared to the combined cycle Fuel Cost Component. This led to an additional cost of Rs580 million. Additionally, CPPA-G reported that 54.68GWh of energy was supplied through net metering in March 2024.

Earlier, on account of the February 2024 FCA, the regulator has allowed additional collection of Rs4.921 per unit from consumers in their April 2024 bills.