Power consumers given Rs4.54/unit shock.

ISLAMABAD -- National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) has allowed an increase of up to Rs4.547 per unit in power tariff, empowering the ex: WAPDA Discos (XWDiscos) to transfer an additional burden of Rs42 billion to electricity consumers on account of quarterly adjustment for the first quarter of ongoing fiscal year.

According to the decision issued by NEPRA on the petition of the XWDiscos for the quarterly adjustments, the regulator has said that the additional burden will be transferred during the months of February and March and will have an average impact of Rs 3.30/unit on the consumers. The decision will increase the per unit cost of various categories of consumers from Rs1.4874/unit to Rs 4.547/unit. The NEPRA decision has deprived the electricity consumers from Rs 3.30/unit relief which they were expecting, after January, at the end of the 4th quarter adjustments. Now the consumer will continue to pay an additional Rs 3.30/unit for the next two months of February and March. In its petition, XWDiscos had sought NEPRA approval for charging an additional Rs2.18/unit from the electricity consumers on account of quarterly adjustment for the 1st quarter (July to September) of FY2022: 23. XWDiscos had sought NEPRA's nod for transferring the burden of Rs 43.337b to the electricity consumers on account of capacity charges, transmission charges and market operation fee, impact of T and D losses on FCA and variable operation and maintenance charges for the 1st quarter of FY 2022: 23.

It is worth mentioning here that during hearing on the XDiscos petition for quarterly adjustments, Chairman NEPRA Tauseef.H.Farooqi had said that the amount of Rs 43b claimed by the Discos is too much and added that 'We thought that after the rebasing of the electricity tariff, the quarterly adjustment amount will be reduced.' CPPA: G has included legal charges of Rs.4.21 million as part of capacity charges. The Authority has decided not to include the amount of legal charges requested for the 1t quarter amounting to Rs.4.2 million and also the amount of Rs.545.55 million requested for the previous quarters on the same account, while working out the instant quarterly adjustments.

According to the information submitted by CPPA: G and adjustment requests filed by XWDISCOs, the Authority has decided to restrict the amount of quarterly adjustment for the 1st Quarter of FY 2022: 23, as requested by XWDISCOs on account of variation in capacity charges...