Another power tariff hike of Rs1.82 per unit on the cards

ISLAMABAD: The power tariff is again likely to be increased as the Central Power Purchasing Agency (CPPA) has filed an application with NEPRA seeking power tariff increase by Rs 1.8290 per kilowatt hour (kWh), it was learnt on Saturday.

According to the details, CPPA on behalf of power distribution companies (DISCOs) except K-Electric has asked the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) to approve Rs 1.82 per unit hike in the power tariff on account of fuel charges adjustment (FCA) for the month of August 2023.

NEPRA will conduct a hearing in this regard on September 27. Once approved, the increase will put an additional burden on already burdened power consumers.

The CPPA, in its application, has submitted that the total electricity generated with various fuels in the month of August was recorded at 15,959 GWh, at a price of Rs8.2654 per unit. The total cost of energy was Rs131,910 million.

The power generation with hydel source was 6,006GWh (giga watt per hour) constituting 37.63 per cent while power production with coal-fired power plants was 2,357 GWh (local + imported coal: 1,638+ 719GWh) which was 14.77 per cent of the total generation at a price of Rs20.1430 per unit and power generation with RFO was 649 GWh 4.51 per cent of total generation calculated at Rs33.3227 per unit.

Similarly, the power generation from gas-based power plants was 1,214 GWh, 7.60 per cent of the total generation, totaling Rs13.2190 per unit and the generation from Re-gasified Liquefied Natural Gas (RLNG) was 2,741 GWh, which was 17.17 per cent of total generation, at Rs23.7148 per unit.

Likewise, power production from bagasse recorded at 38 GWh, the price of which has been calculated at Rs5.9822 per unit. The electricity generated from wind was recorded at 8.5 GWh, 5.05 per cent of total generation and solar at 84 GWh, 0.53 per cent of the total generation in August 2023.

Moreover, electricity generation from nuclear sources was 2,040GWh which came out at Rs1.1725 per unit, 12.79 per cent of the total generation, and electricity imported from Iran was 26 GWh that amounted to Rs25.0981 per unit, 0.16 per cent of the total power generation in the said month.

It is also learnt from the data submitted by the CCPA-G with NEPRA that net electricity delivered to DISCOs in August 2023 was 15,472 GWh (96.95pc) at a rate of Rs8.4746 per unit, total price of which was Rs131,118 million.

The CPPA-G in its tariff adjustment request advocated that the reference fuel charges for August 2023 were fixed at Rs 6.6457 per unit while the actual fuel charges were recorded at Rs8.4747 per unit. So an increase of Rs 1.8290 per unit in the power tariff should be made for the month of August under FCA mechanism.

NEPRA will invite all the interested/affected parties to raise written/oral objections as permissible under the law at the scheduled public hearing on September 27, 2023.

Ahmad Ahmadani
Ahmad Ahmadani
The author is a an investigative journalist at Profit. He can be reached at [email protected].

2 COMMENTS

Comments are closed.

Must Read

CDWP’s approval of Punjab’s Rs211 billion water project sparks tensions with...

Approval for Punjab’s massive irrigation project has intensified the water-sharing dispute between the provinces, with Sindh challenging the decision and warning of long-term impacts on water flow downstream