ISLAMABAD: The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) on Friday directed the K-Electric to pay Rs4.8862/unit back to power consumers in October 2022 bills, as it charged a higher price from consumers in their electricity bills of August 2022, when the per unit cost of generation was low.
After this decision, the Karachi-based facility would reimburse approximately Rs8.5 billion to consumers on account of monthly Fuel Charges Adjustment (FCA). This adjustment/relief would be available to all the user categories of KE except lifeline power consumers, domestic consumers consuming up to 300 units, agricultural consumers, and electric vehicle charging stations (EVCS).
The regulator in its final decision said, “It is hereby clarified that negative adjustment on account of monthly FCA is also applicable to the domestic consumers having Time of Use (ToU) meters irrespective of their consumption level.” In its earlier decisions for July’s fuel charges adjustment (FCA), Nepra had asked KE to refund Rs4.117 per unit to consumers in their September 2020 bills and it was being paid back and had a total impact of Rs7.4 billion on the company.
For June 2022’s FCA, Nepra had allowed the K-Electric to collect an additional Rs11.102/ unit in electricity bills for August and September 2022, which has a combined impact of Rs25 billion to be collected. For May’s FCA, the regulator had allowed the KE to charge an extra Rs9.518/unit in two months, including Rs2.6322/unit in July and Rs6.886/unit in August bills from consumers.
It is be noted that on August 12, NEPRA had allowed the K-Electric to collect an additional Rs11.1023/unit as monthly FCA for June 2022 from consumers in their electricity bills for August and September 2022, which has a combined impact of Rs25 billion to be collected. Additionally, on August 10, NEPRA allowed the K-Electric to collect an additional Rs0.5715 per unit on account of quarterly tariff adjustments for three months from June-August 2022 that will be charged in the next three months starting from August to October 2022.
The FCAs are applied after NEPRA’s scrutiny and public hearings, which are conducted independently for KE and state-owned entities (XWDISCOs). Alongside final approval on the FCA to be charged to consumers, the NEPRA Authority also specifies the period during which these FCA can be applied to consumer bills.
The Authority, during the hearing, noted that the cost of KE’s own generation was around three times higher than the cost of energy it purchases. Upon inquiry, by the Authority, regarding steps taken by KE to reduce its own cost of generation, KE explained that it has prepared a detailed plan for the induction of cheaper energy sources, including renewables. KE submitted that it plans to induct 1,182 MWs of renewables by 2030. Upon inquiry from the commentators, regarding the status of 900 MW BQPS-III, KE submitted that it will be fully operational from the winter season.