Power distribution companies (Discos) have requested a fuel cost adjustment (FCA) reduction of 30 paise per unit for February, despite 84% of electricity being generated from cheaper domestic sources.Â
Discos claimed in their petition that the average fuel cost in February was Rs8.23 per unit, lower than Rs9.4 per unit recorded in the same period last year.Â
Nepra has scheduled a public hearing on March 26 to review the CPPA’s request to revise the FCA downward by Rs0.2984 per unit from the reference fuel charge of Rs8.5276 per unit.
If approved by the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra), consumers could receive a refund of approximately Rs2 billion in their April bills.
The decline in fuel costs is attributed to an increased reliance on domestic energy sources and the higher base tariff introduced in July 2024. February saw a 3.3% drop in electricity consumption compared to the same month last year, with a further 14% decline from January.Â
The Central Power Purchasing Agency (CPPA) reported that total power consumption for February stood at 6,666 gigawatt hours (GWh), down from 7,816 GWh in January.
Electricity generation in February reached 6,945 GWh, costing Rs52.58 billion at an average fuel rate of Rs7.57 per unit. Of this, 6,666 GWh was supplied to Discos at a cost of Rs54.86 billion, equating to Rs8.23 per unit.Â
Hydropower accounted for the largest share in the national grid at over 27%, followed closely by nuclear energy at 26.6%. Local coal contributed 15.02%, while re-gasified liquefied natural gas (RLNG) made up 14%. Local gas generated 10.32%, whereas imported coal accounted for only 1.56% due to lower energy demand in cooler temperatures.
LNG-based power remained the most expensive at Rs22.35 per unit, followed by imported coal at Rs18.90 per unit and local coal at Rs13.78 per unit. Meanwhile, the cost of local gas-based power generation saw a slight increase from Rs13.21 per unit in January to Rs13.36 per unit in February.
