Discos to charge Re0.81/unit extra from consumers

ISLAMABAD: The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) on Thursday allowed Rs0.81/unit increase in electricity charges for all the power distribution companies, except K-Electric, on account of monthly fuel price adjustment for February 2019.

In February, the cost of fuel got higher, whereas power consumers were charged with low rates. The decision was made to recover the differential amount, the power regulator said. This increase would be charged in the electricity bills of April.

The additional charges from consumers would amount to Rs5.2 billion. The adjustment will, however, not be applicable to lifeline consumers who consume up to 50 units a month as well as K-Electric consumers. Nepra took this decision in a public hearing on a petition filed by the Central Power Purchasing Agency (CPPA) on behalf of the distribution companies (Discos). Nepra’s member Balochistan Rehmatullah Baloch chaired the meeting. The CPPA had sought the permission for reimbursement of Rs1.2304/unit from power consumers. It told the regulator that it has charged reference fuel price of Rs3.971/unit from consumers in February, while the cost was Rs5.2014/unit.

The CCPA revealed that a total of 6686.81 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of electricity generated in February at total cost of Rs32.619 billion. Net electricity delivered to power distribution companies was 6,425.29GWh, whereas transmission losses came in at 3.70 percent or Rs0.193/unit. Of the total electricity that the purchasing agency acquired, 1,522.6 GWh (or 22.77pc of total) was from hydel sources. This generation in

February was 6.16pc more than January when the generation was 477.6GWh. The CPPA purchased 112.35GWh of electricity from residual fuel oil (RFO)-based power plants at a cost of Rs11.908/unit. RFO-based electricity share was 1.68pc. However, in February no electricity was generated from High Speed Diesel. The cost of electricity, based on re-gasified liquefied natural gas (RLNG), stood at Rs9.7643/unit and its share was 16.89percent in total electricity generation. From RLNG, 1129.23GWh was produced during the month. Cost of electricity generated by using domestically-produced natural gas was Rs5.7927/unit and its total share in electricity generation was 23.85 percent or 1595.08GWh. In January 1609.42 GWhs local gas based electricity was generated and its cost of electricity was Rs5.08 per unit. Coal-fired power generation contributed 1,167.69GWh, accounting for 17.46 percent of total generation at a cost of Rs7.8932/unit. Nuclear power plants generated 744.03GWh, having a share of 11.13 percent at a cost of Rs0.9512 per unit, the cheapest amongst all fuel sources. In February, 28.38GWh of electricity was imported from Iran for Rs11.5709/unit. From bagasse, 89.53GWh was generated at a cost of Rs6.19 and 212.51GWh and 52.93GWh were produced from wind and solar sources, respectively.