ISLAMABAD: The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) on Friday allowed the federal authorities to extend electrical energy charges by Rs3.28 per unit for all customers throughout the nation for six months — October 2023 to March 2024 — with further income impression going past Rs200bn.

The improve has been allowed beneath quarterly tariff adjustment (QTA) mechanism to finance the extra impression of capability fees resulting from forex devaluation, rate of interest hike and different elements.

The energy division of power ministry had initially sought Rs6.20 per unit adjustment for the fourth quarter of 2022-23 fiscal yr for ex-Wapda distribution corporations (Discos) to fill a Rs146bn financing hole inside three months however later sought its staggered restoration on the price of Rs3.55 per unit in six months amid public protests towards skyrocketing tariff hike.

Subsequently, the facility division additionally requested Nepra to permit utility of comparable charges on Okay-Electric customers to make sure uniformity and scale back subsidy payable towards them.

The Nepra after public hearings and examination of information, nonetheless, “decided a constructive adjustment of Rs135.584bn on account of variation in capability fees, variable O&M, further restoration on incremental gross sales, use of system fees, market operator payment and FCA impression on T&D losses for the fourth quarter of FY 2022-23”. It mentioned its willpower despatched to the facility division for formal notification and utility of revised charges of Rs3.2814 per unit with impact from October 1, 2023.

With the appliance of 18pc GST, the extra impression on Discos’s customers would thus work out at about Rs160bn on the price of Rs3.87 per unit. While the federal government or Nepra didn’t disclose the monetary impression of utility of similar energy charges on KE customers, an official mentioned that it will be little over Rs40bn, thus taking the whole monetary impression past Rs200bn.

The regulator, nonetheless, made it clear that no quarterly changes could be handed on to Bl, B2, B3 and B4 industrial customers to the extent of incremental gross sales until continuation of the package deal.

This QTA further cost is on high of as much as Rs7.5 per unit improve in electrical energy charges that got here into pressure with impact from July 1, 2023 with a monetary impression of Rs890bn excluding 18pc GST and subsequent month-to-month gasoline worth changes.

One of the important thing elements for the extra quarterly price, in line with distribution corporations (Discos) and the facility division group, was the 13pc decrease electrical energy drawn by Discos than estimated by related authorities whereas setting the reference charges. It was reported that sale of 37,645 gigawatt hours (GWh) had been estimated for April-June 2023 interval however solely 32,661 Gwh may very well be offered.

Published in Dawn, September twenty third, 2023