On Tuesday, the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) announced that K-Electric customers will receive an additional 40 paise per unit fuel cost adjustment (FCA) for electricity used in August.
This adjustment will appear in the January 2025 consumer bills, providing KE approximately Rs 675 million. Initially, KE had requested a 51-paise increase to garner Rs853 million.
This new adjustment will replace a previously approved positive FCA of Rs3.04 per unit for July’s electricity usage, which was set to be billed in December. Karachi residents will face a positive FCA of Rs3.17 per unit in November. Consequently, the rate for consumers in January 2025 will be lower than in the preceding months.
Karachi’s business, commercial, and political representatives have opposed this new FCA, arguing that it could hamper business and commercial activities in Pakistan’s largest city and major port, putting it at a competitive disadvantage. They have criticised KE and Nepra for operating inefficient power plants and permitting such practices, respectively, which resulted in KE’s fuel cost reaching Rs24 per unit in August, significantly higher than the Rs8.8 per unit on the national grid.
Nepra had directed KE two years ago to stop revenue-based load shedding and limit power cuts to pole-mounted transformers (PMTs), a directive KE has not fully implemented.
In its order, Nepra mentioned that KE is still evaluating the feasibility of PMT-based load shedding.
Fuel charge adjustments reflect global fuel price fluctuations and generation mix alterations. According to the notification, the increased FCA will affect all consumer categories except lifeline power users, those with prepaid meters, and electric vehicle charging stations.
