DISCOs again seek power price hike under FCA of August

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 Rs0.22 per unit, 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 Rs0.2192 per kilowatt hour (kWh) under FCA of August, 2022.

NEPRA will conduct a hearing in this regard on September 29. 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 14,052.59 GWh, at a basket price of Rs10.0587 per unit. The total cost of energy was Rs141,351 million.

The power generation with hydel source was 5,353.69 GWh (giga watt per hour) constituting 38.10 per cent while power production with coal-fired power plants was 2,163.01 GWh which was 15.39 per cent of the total generation at a price of Rs20.5441 per unit and power generation with RFO was 1,021.38 GWh 7.27 per cent of total generation calculated at Rs35.6145 per unit. 

Similarly, the power generation from gas-based power plants was 1,315.21 GWh, 9.36 per cent of the total generation, totaling Rs10.4930 per unit and the generation from Re-gasified Liquefied Natural Gas (RLNG) was 1,755.79 GWh, which was 12.49 per cent of total generation, at Rs24.7199 per unit.

Likewise, power production from mixed sources was 17.78 GWh at a price of Rs4.7544 per unit, generation from bagasse recorded at 33.13 GWh, the price of which has been calculated at Rs5.9822 per unit. The electricity generated from wind was recorded at 390.71 GWh, 2.78 per cent of total generation and solar at 73.44 GWh, 0.52 per cent of the total generation in August.

Moreover, electricity generation from nuclear sources was 1,873.98 GWh which came out at Rs1.0194 per unit, 13.34 per cent of the total generation, and electricity imported from Iran was 54.47 GWh that amounted to Rs20.9570 per unit, 0.39 per cent of the total power generation in the said month.

Profit also learnt from the data submitted by the CCPA-G with NEPRA that net electricity delivered to DISCOs in August 2022 was 13,638.75 GWh at a rate of Rs10.1126 per unit, total price of which was Rs151.137,924 million.

The CPPA-G in its tariff adjustment request advocated that the reference fuel charges for August 2022 were fixed at Rs9.8934 per unit while the actual fuel charges were recorded at Rs10.9833 per unit. So an increase of Rs0.2194 per unit in the power tariff should be made for the month of August under FCA mechanism.

NEPRA, in a public notice, has invited all the interested/affected parties to raise written/oral objections as permissible under the law at the public hearing.