Electricity, gas prices go up

ISLAMABAD: The prices of electricity and gas have gone up as the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) has allowed power distribution companies (Discos) to charge from consumers 16.28 percent system losses amounting to Rs162.8 billion in a year, while the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) has increased the prescribed tariff of gas of Sui Northern Gas Private Limited (SNGPL) by Rs60.65 per MMBTU.

The electricity consumers will pay Rs186.8 billion more in the electricity tariff in one year. The average electricity tariff has now increased by Re0.48 per unit to Rs11.38 per unit from Rs10.90 per unit with immediate effect. Earlier the 15.3 percent lines losses were permissible. In the latest scenario, Nepra has increased the allowable losses to 16.28 percent which will now be reflected in the power tariff of end consumers.

This has been unfolded in the much awaited re-determination given by Nepra here on Wednesday in the matter of Request for Reconsideration pertaining to the Tariff Determination dated February 29, 2016 and Review Decision dated May 18, 2016 with respect to the Discos for the Financial Year 2015-16 to 2019-20.

The Nepra spokesman said that the regulator has increased the permissible losses in the tariff by one per cent more owing to which the allowable losses have reached 16.28 percent. He also said that Nepra has allowed the increase in permissible losses while keeping in view the third party evaluation about the study on distribution losses. The third party had suggested the permissible losses should be at 16.79 per cent, but we have also kept in view the studies on the losses carried out by the Discos and the regulator has chosen the lowest number of the losses of 16.28 per cent. 

The spokesman also said that regulator has also provisionally allowed Discos to pass on to consumers the write offs amounting to Rs24 billion. This was the amount which was not being collected by Discos from the permanently disconnected consumers. Factually Discos have demanded Nepra to pass on Rs42 billion to the end consumers in the heads of write offs.

Meanwhile, Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) has increased the prescribed tariff of gas of Sui Northern Gas Private Limited (SNGPL) by Rs60.65 per MMBTU to Rs455.21 per MMBTU while finalising the estimated revenue requirement of the said gas company at Rs211.940 billion for the year 2017-18. The regulator has also decided to pass the UFG loss at 6.3 percent (around Rs10 billion) to the consumers in the prescribed gas tariff for the year 2017-18. However, the petitioner (Sui Northern) had asked for 9.21 percent UFG.