ISLAMABAD: The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) on Thursday notified a Rs4.74 increase in the electricity tariff.
The hike in the power tariff is on account of fuel charges adjustment (FCA) for October 2021, said a notification by NEPRA.
The FCA will be charged with the bill of December 2021, to be paid by all consumer categories of distribution companies, except for lifeline customers, the notice stated.
The Rs4.74 increase will put a burden of Rs60 billion on consumers, including a 17% GST.
It is pertinent to mention that 10.98 billion units of electricity were sold during October.
“While effecting the fuel adjustment charges, the concerned XWDISCOs shall keep in view and strictly comply with the orders of the courts notwithstanding this order,” the notification read.
Earlier this week, the regulatory authority notified another hike in the price of electricity for Karachi, increasing the rate by Rs3.75 per unit.
The notification said that the latest adjustment in the approved tariff for Karachi has been made on account of the fuel charges adjustment for September, which would be included in the electricity bills for December.
Responding to the development, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said "after an annual increase in electricity prices, the addition of fuel adjustment charges to electricity bills is tantamount to the economic murder of people".
The PPP chairman, lambasting the government, said it had already "looted" billions of rupees from the masses through the electricity bills.
"By acting on the IMF's (International Monetary Fund) directives to increase electricity costs, Imran Khan has turned from a local puppet to an international one," Bilawal said.
Bilawal said that PPP was against the "PTIMF budget since day one" and asked what became of the lofty promises of economic development that the PTI had made.
"Imran Khan is guilty of pushing people into the bog of inflation, we will not forgive him," he said, and announced that the PPP would hold countrywide protests against inflation on December 10.
Bilawal said the series of protests against the government "will now culminate in the ouster of the government".