DISCOs seek recovery of over Rs51bn from power consumers

ISLAMABAD: Already burdened power consumers should get ready to face an additional burden as the power distribution companies (DISCOs) have requested the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) to approve recovery of Rs 51 billion and 88 crore worth heavy amounts from them.

DISCOs have filed their request with NEPRA for adjustments on account of capacity charges, transmission charges, and market operator fee, the impact of T&D (Transmission & Despatch) losses on Fuel Charges Adjustment (FCA), and variable operation & maintenance charges for the third quarter (January to March) of the financial year 2023-24, in line with the notified mechanism in this regard.

According to documents, Faisalabad Electric Supply Company (FESCO), Gujranwala Electric Power Company (GEPCO), Hyderabad Electric Supply Company (HESCO), Islamabad Electric Supply Company (IESCO), Lahore Electric Supply Company (LESCO), Multan Electric Power Company (MEPCO), Peshawar Electric Supply Company (PESCO), Quetta Electric Supply Company (QESCO), Sukkur Electric Power Company (SEPCO), and Tribal Electric Supply Company (TESCO) have asked to allow recovery of total Rs 51.88 billion from the power consumers under the head capacity charges, variable O&M, Use of System Charges (UoSc) & MoF.

Among these, FESCO has requested to recover Rs 9.318 billion, HESCO sought Rs 5.413 billion, IESCO Rs 8.170 billion, LESCO Rs 3.940 billion, MEPCO Rs 3.621 billion, PESCO Rs 14.717 billion, QESCO Rs 5.389 billion, and SEPCO Rs 2.773 billion.

The bulk of the requested amount, totaling Rs 31.348 billion under the head capacity charges while they requested these DISCO also asked a total Rs 5.571 billion on account of variable O&M, UoSC & MoF Rs 2.581 billion.     

In light of Policy Guidelines issued by the federal government for the application of uniform quarterly adjustments, the third quarterly adjustment for FY2023-24 of the DISCOs to be determined by the Authority shall also apply to the consumers of K-Electric, read the documents.

NEPRA, in a public hearing notice, has invited all the interested/ affected parties to submit written/oral comments or objections as permissible under the law at the hearing regarding the proposed adjustments.      

To proceed further and to arrive at a just and informed decision, the Authority has decided to conduct a hearing on the matter on May 17, 2024, at NEPRA headquarters.

It is pertinent to mention that as the fate of this substantial recovery request hangs in the balance, consumers should get ready to face an additional financial burden.