Govt to refund Rs53.4bn in power bills

ISLAMABAD: Power consumers across Pakistan, including those served by K-Electric, are poised to receive a Rs53.4 billion refund in their electricity bills as the federal government moves to implement a negative quarterly tariff adjustment for the final quarter (April-June) of fiscal 2024-25.

The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) will hold a public hearing on August 4 on a petition from the Central Power Purchasing Agency–Guaranteed (CPPA-G), which has sought the downward adjustment mainly because of lower capacity payments following negotiated settlements with independent and government power producers.

According to CPPA-G data, the biggest reductions are proposed for Faisalabad Electric Supply Company (Rs15.579 billion), Lahore Electric Supply Company (Rs12.758 billion) and Multan Electric Power Company (Rs8.467 billion). Other companies who want to refund to their clients are Gujranwala Electric Power Company (Gepco) Rs6.132 billion, Islamabad Electric Supply Company (Iesco) Rs1.04 billion, Peshawar Electric Supply Company (Pesco) Rs2.7 billion, Hyderabad Electric Supply Company (Hesco) Rs6.818 billion, Sukkur Electric Supply Company (Sepco) Rs504 million and Tribal Electric Supply Company (Tesco) with Rs2.985 billion. However, Quetta Electric Quetta Supply Company (Qesco) wants to recover Rs3.594 billion from its clients. Under federal policy guidelines ensuring uniform power tariffs, the Nepra said the approved relief will also extend to K-Electric consumers.