Govt to pass on benefit of cheaper power generation to consumers

ISLAMABAD: The government is going to pass on the benefits of the cheaper cost of fuel for power generation to domestic power consumers and will make fuel price adjustment in their electricity bills of September and October 2015.
The units consumed in June and July 2015 and which the consumers had already paid, at Rs2.19 per unit and 2.14 per unit respectively will be adjusted in September and October bills, once the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) determines.
This adjustment/relief will be available to domestic consumers in entire Pakistan, except in Karachi where the K-Electric is distributing its own generated electricity to the city and is not covered by this package. It will be also not available to the lifeline consumers consuming up to 50 units a month.
The Central Power Purchase Agency (CPPA) has sought from the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) Rs2.19/unit reduction in power rates for June 2015 and Rs2.14/unit for July 2015 for all distribution companies. Admitting the CPPA’s tariff petition, Nepra has decided to hold a public hearing on September 15, 2015 before passing on the relief in the upcoming billing month.
Spokesman of the Ministry of Water and Power Deputy Secretary Zafar Yab Khan has confirmed the development to The News saying, “Normally in June and July, almost every household consumes more units compared to other months, and once their bills are adjusted with the same rates in upcoming bill, it will be a major relief to them.”
This petition has been filed on account of the fuel price reduction and efficient “merit order” implementation on power generation plants which led to lesser cost of power production. Under its social responsibility, the government is mulling to provide relief to the consumers as a cushion. Merit order is a way of ranking available sources of electricity generation based on ascending order of price. Under this order, those power generation units with the lowest marginal costs are the first ones to be brought online to meet demand, and the plants with the highest marginal costs are the last to be brought on line.