Use of costly fuel hits consumers with Rs1.89bn burden

ISLAMABAD: Power consumers faced an additional burden of Rs1.89 billion in February due to violations of the merit order in power generation, while regulators flagged a persistent decline in electricity consumption, directing the Power Division to conduct a study on the issue.

The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) also called for immediate measures to control electricity costs ahead of the summer.

On Wednesday, during a public hearing on the monthly fuel adjustment request for February, the Central Power Purchasing Agency (CPPA) on behalf of state-run power distribution companies (Discos) proposed a minor refund of Rs0.298 per unit for consumers. This is marking the eighth consecutive month the Agency has sought a reimbursement to power consumers.

If this petition was approved, the adjustment will apply to all consumers of state-run distribution companies (Discos), except for lifeline and protected consumers, prepaid users and electric vehicle charging stations.

Nepra Technical Member Rafiq Sheikh questioned the CPPA on electricity demand growth projections and criticized the absence of power distribution companies (Discos) at the hearing.

Nepra chairman instructed the Power Division to analyze the reasons behind the continuous drop in power consumption and ordered authorities to develop a hydropower generation plan to curb expensive electricity costs during peak summer months.

Regulators also expressed frustration over delays in key National Transmission and Despatch Company (NTDC) projects, including the Lahore North transmission project and SCADA-III system. The chairman warned that repeated notices and explanations were no longer acceptable.

Meanwhile, CPPA reported that under the winter support package, electricity consumption increased by 200 million units in February, with 130 million units consumed by the residential sector and 30 million units by the industry. Nepra will finalize its decision on the fuel adjustment after reviewing the data.