ISLAMABAD: The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) on Wednesday said that the price of electricity for K-Electric consumers can be reduced under the head fuel charges adjustment (FCA) of July 2022.
According to the details, the authority conducted a hearing under its chairman Tauseef H. Farooqi to consider applications submitted by K-Electric (KE) on account of July’s FCA along with quarterly adjustment for the quarter ending June 2022 Multi Year Tariff (MYT) 2017-2023. NEPRA members Engineer Rafique Ahmed Shaikh and Engineer Maqsood Anwar were present on the occasion.
It may be recalled that KE had sought a Rs3.48/unit cut, relief worth Rs6.2 billion, for its consumers on account of fuel charges adjustment for the month of July.
However, in another application submitted with authority under the head quarterly adjustment for the quarter ending June 2022, MYT 2017-2023, the port city’s power company had sought a Rs14.53/unit hike in the power tariff.
According to NEPRA, power prices charged to KE consumers can be reduced between Rs3.63/unit to Rs 4.10/unit in accordance with the initial scrutiny of data submitted by the electric company.
However, this cut will be applicable for only one month if approved by the authority. “NEPRA will issue its detailed judgement on FCA of July for KE consumers after detailed scrutiny of the data,” the authority said in its statement during the hearing.
It is relevant to note that NEPRA had earlier allowed KE to charge its consumers Rs11.10/unit for a period of one month under FCA of June.
KE had earlier submitted an application advocating a negative FCA of Rs3.48 per kilowatt hour (kWh) for July.
In this regard, a spokesman of KE said that the negative FCA was because of a 31% reduction in the price of electricity which was purchased from the central power purchasing agency (CPPA) in addition to a 16% decrease in the price of Re-gasified Liquefied Natural Gas (RLNG).
In regard to the massive hike requested by the utility company, the spokesman said that the quarterly adjustment is usually not passed on to customers under the government’s uniform tariff policy. However, the final decision in this regard will be taken together by both NEPRA and the government.
