Staff Report
ISLAMABAD: K-Electric consumers will have to pay an additional cost of Rs. 3.93 per unit for the month of March 2023, as per the fuel charges adjustment (FCA) approved and notified by the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA).
NEPRA has instructed K-Electric to apply the fuel charges for March 2023 in the billing month of May 2023, which will be separately shown in the consumer’s bills based on the respective month’s units billed. However, the increase in electricity tariff will not be applicable to Electric Vehicles Charging Stations (EVCS) and lifeline consumers of KE.
Although KE had requested an FCA of Rs. 4.49 per unit for March 2023, NEPRA approved a lower increase of Rs. 3.93 per unit, considering the high prices of fuel used for power generation in March. K-Electric sources around 1,000 megawatts of electricity from Central Power Purchasing Agency-Guarantee (CPPA-G), and any variation in its prices directly affects the power tariff for consumers in Karachi. The fluctuation in fuel prices is usually passed on to consumers after NEPRA’s scrutiny and approval, and it is only applied to one month’s electricity bills.
The price of electricity purchased from CPPA-G increased by 41% in March 2023 compared to December 2022. KE also buys gas from Sui Southern Gas Company and RLNG from Pakistan LNG Limited to generate electricity at its own plants. The price of RLNG purchased from SSGC went up by 14% in March compared to December 2022, while the RLNG supplied by PLL increased by 20%. On the other hand, the price of furnace oil, which is also used in power plants for electricity production, decreased by 10% in March compared to December 2022 levels. The responsibility of determining fuel charges adjustment and any other costs to be recovered from consumers rests with NEPRA and the government.
Consumers can avail themselves of reduced fuel charges if the cost of fuel decreases in the future. The increase in electricity tariff due to the FCA for March 2023 will be separately shown in the consumer’s bills based on units billed in the respective month.
