Power tariff reduced by 75 paise

The National Energy Regulatory Authority (Nepra) has reduced electricity tariff to 75 paise per unit for consumers of erstwhile distribution companies Wapda (DISCO) and K-Electric due to fuel charge adjustment (FCA).

The power sector regulator has reduced tariff to Rs 0.7556 per unit for DISCOs due to changes in fuel tariffs in November 2024.

For consumers, K-Electric has reduced the electricity price by Rs 0.4919 per kilowatt hour (kWh) for October 2024. The refund on account of the tariff reduction will be made in the electricity bills for January 2025.

Discussing the application of DISCO tariffs, the regulator said the National Transmission and Dispatch Company (NTDC) reported provisional transmission and transformation (T&T) losses of 244.158 gigawatt-hours (GWh), equivalent to 2.946%, based on power supplied to NTDC system during November 2024.

Additionally, NTDC reported T&T losses of 19.528 GWh, or 3.391%, for Pak Matiari-Lahore Transmission Company’s (PMLTC) high-voltage DC power lines.

NTDC allows T&T losses of 2.639% at 500 kilovolt and 220 kV levels. For PMLTC, allowable T&T losses are up to 4.3%.

Therefore, as of November 2024, T&T losses of 263.686 GWh were verified for the NTDC system in 500kV and 220kV networks and for PMLTC, keeping them within the permissible limits. These losses were included in FCA’s monthly calculations.

The Central Power Purchasing Agency-Guarantee (CPPA-G) has provided detailed information on net metering units. According to data in November, DISCOs purchased 80.78 GWh under net metering. Additionally, CPPA-G reported that 18.22 GWh was supplied by power producers with bilateral agreements with DISCOs.

Regarding fuel costs for independent power producers/owned power plants, CPPA-G only provided DISCO with monthly NTDC data for these suppliers, but did not include fuel cost breakdowns in the FCA proposal.

The adjustment will apply to all categories of consumers, except emergency customers, domestic consumers with 300 units or less, electric vehicle charging stations, prepaid electricity customers of all categories and agricultural DISCO customers.

The regulator clarified that the negative tariff adjustment for monthly FCA will also apply to domestic customers with time-of-use (ToU) meters, regardless of their consumption level.

The adjustment will be shown separately on consumer bills based on units billed in November. The Winter Demand Initiative Regulations of December 6, 2024 will also apply to FCA. DISCOs will reflect the November 2024 FCA in the January 2025 accounting month.

In the case of K-Electric, the electricity regulator has reduced the rate to Rs 0.49 per unit due to FCA for October 2024, which would be passed on to consumers in the billing month of January 2025. The total impact of the relief is calculated to be Rs 843 million Rs.

Nepra has allowed the use of FCA on a temporary basis, subject to adjustment upon approval of the new Multi-Year Tariff (MYT) for financial years 2024-2030. Any cost differences will be reflected in future adjustments once MYT is notified.

The discount will apply to all categories of consumers, except lifeline consumers, domestic consumers with up to 300 units, electric vehicle charging stations, prepaid electricity customers and agricultural customers. The negative tariff adjustment also applies to domestic customers with ToU meters, regardless of their consumption level.

It will be shown separately on consumer bills based on the number of units settled in the month to which the correction applies. K-Electric will include the October 2024 FCA in the January 2025 billing month.