ISLAMABAD: The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) on Wednesday allowed an increase of 41 paisas/unit in electricity tariff for all the power distribution companies except K-Electric on account of fuel price adjustment for October 2018.
This increase has been made as in October the cost of fuel was high while the power consumers were charged with low rates, so this adjustment/increase has been made to recover that amount, the power regulator said.
Ex-Wapda Discos would charge this Rs0.41/unit increase in electricity bills of December 2018. The tariff adjustment/increase will, however, not be applicable to lifeline consumers who consume up to 50 units in a month and K-Electric. Nepra took the decision in a public hearing on a petition filed by the Central Power Purchasing Agency (CPPA) on behalf of the power distribution companies (Discos).
Nepra Chairman Tariq Sadozai, while chairing the hearing, showed displeasure over the use of furnace oil instead of coal and LNG and directed the CPPA to submit report in this regard to the regulatory authority. The authority noted that if instead of furnace oil, coal or LNG was used for the power generation the cost could have reduced by 59 paisa per unit.
The Central Power Purchasing Agency proposed an increase of Rs0.6429 per unit under fuel price adjustment for the month of October for ex-Wapda Discos. The CPPA told the power regulator that actual cost of electricity generation stood at 5.8795/unit against the reference fuel price of Rs5.2366/unit, registering an increase of Rs0.6429/unit.
Ex-Wapda discos would be able to collect an additional Rs3.8 billion from electricity consumers in their next month bills as a result of the latest tariff adjustment. Ex-Wapda Discos include Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Hyderabad, Islamabad, Lahore, Multan, Peshawar, Quetta, Sukkur and Tribal Areas electric supply companies.
According to the petition, submitted by the CPPA with Nepra, total energy generated in October 2018 was 9573.87GW at a total price of Rs52.127 billion which is Rs5.4448 per unit.
The share of hydel power generation in October was decreased by 45 percent from 4,279.50GW in September to 2389.95 GW in October. The CPPA on behalf of the Discos also claimed Rs2.97 billion or 31 paisa for the previous adjustment/Supplemental charges. Of this, about 9,308.95 GW were sold to the Discos at Rs54.73 billion with a transmission loss of 2.66 percent.
Hydel power generation in October reduced by 45pc from 4,279.50GW in September 2018 to 2389.95GW in October 2018. The share of hydle power in national energy mix was reduced to 24.96 percent in October from 34 percent earlier.
The share of re-gasified liquefied natural gas (RLNG) stood at 22.92 percent and per unit cost was Rs9.8604 per unit. Residual fuel oil (RFO)-based electricity generation was 7.88 percent in October against 8.1 percent in September. The total cost of RFO based electricity was Rs14.4292 per unit.
The total generation from local gas based electricity was 1913.10 GW accounting for 19.98 percent of total generation, and its cost of electricity was Rs5.3974 per unit. Coal based generation was increased from 9.1 percent in September to 11.65 percent in October. The total generation cost of coal electricity was Rs3.3820 per unit in October which is much lower than the September cost of Rs6.4850 per unit.
The share of nuclear energy in the national energy mix was increased to 9.27 percent in October from 5.43 percent in September. The fuel cost of the nuclear energy was 97.50 paisa per unit. Baggasse based electricity contributed 0.72 percent at cost of Rs6.21 per unit.
The share of electricity imported from Iran was increased from 0.38 percent in September to 0.48 percent in October. The cost of the Iranian electricity was Rs11.57 per unit. The share of wind energy was decreased from 2.73 percent in September to 0.98 percent in October at zero fuel cost. While 0.51 percent contribution came from solar energy at no cost. Mixed Energy also contributed 0.50 percent electricity to the national grid at the cost of Rs6.8914 per unit.