Quarterly tariff adjustment of July-Sept 2022: Nepra allows KE to charge Rs1.55/unit extra in May-July bills

ISLAMABAD: The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) has allowed K-Electric to collect up to an additional Rs1.5547/unit on account of quarterly tariff adjustments (QTA) for July to September 2022, which will be charged in the next three months starting from May to July 2023.

The regulator has issued its decision along with the schedule of tariff (SoT), where power consumers of all categories, including residential, commercial, time of use (ToU) consumers, electric vehicle charging stations (EVCS), general services, industrial sector, single point supply, agriculture tube wells, streetlights, and residential colonies attached to industrial premises will all be charged with an additional Rs1.5547/units in these three months. However, lifeline consumers consuming less than 100 units per month will be exempted from this burden.

It would be recovered from the consumers in their utility bills for May-July 2023, based on the electricity units consumed during July, August and September 2022.

The Nepra has issued the decision on the federal government motion submitted to it with respect to the recommendation of a consumer-end tariff for K-Electric. As per practice, the government maintains a uniform tariff across the country, and generally, the differential is adjusted through subsidy.

The Ministry of Energy has therefore requested for application of quarterly adjustments on K-Electric consumers as applicable for XWDISCOs. The federal government filed a motion to the Nepra under sections 7 & 31 of the Nepra Act, 1997 read with rule 17 of Nepra Tariff (Standards and Procedure) Rules, 1998, for application of Quarterly Adjustment on K-Electric consumers as applicable for XWDISCOs.

The power regulator on April 3, 2023 held a public hearing on the federal government’s motion with respect to the consumer-end tariff recommendations of the K-Electric to adjust the tariff of K-Electric under the head of the Uniform Tariff Policy. It was stated by the ministry that the federal government is providing a subsidy of around Rs150 billion to KE during the current year.