The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) has approved an increase of Rs 7.056 per kilowatt hour in the power tariff for the consumers of power distribution companies (DISCOs) except K-Electric.
According to NEPRA, the tariff hike on account of fuel charges adjustment (FCA) shall be applicable to all the consumer categories except Electric Vehicle Charging Stations (EVCS) and lifeline consumers.
Similarly, this increase in power tariff shall be shown separately in the consumer’s bill proportional to the units billed to the consumers in the month of January 2024. Furthermore, DISCOs shall reflect the fuel charges adjustment of January 2024 in the billing month of March 2024.
Earlier, the Central Power Purchasing Agency Guarantee Limited (CPPA-G), on behalf of power distribution companies (DISCOs), requested the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) to increase the power price on account of FCA of January and provided detailed information regarding the actual fuel charges incurred by the DISCOs during the month of January. On 23rd February, the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) conducted a hearing concerning the said adjustment under the head FCA for the DISCOs.
Based on this data, CPPA-G proposed an increase of Rs. 7.1308/kWh over the reference fuel charges for DISCOS, totaling Rs. 7.4894/kWh for January 2024.
The actual price of electricity in this period, already stood at a higher rate of Rs 14.6 per unit because of generation through expensive fuels like high-speed diesel (HSD).
The precise fuel charges incurred by the Ex-WAPDA DISCOs, as given by the Central Power Purchasing Agency Guarantee Limited (CPPA-G), reveal diverse costs across various generation sources, with hydel at Rs. 11.9213 per unit. The breakdown revealed varying costs across different generation sources, ranging from Rs. 11.9213/kWh for hydel to Rs. 45.6066/kWh for HSD.
During this period, the share of hydel electricity had dropped to 924 Gwh accounting for 11.12 percent out of the total energy mix. The canals were closed during the month of January which led to a massive drop in water releases from dams, causing less electricity generation.
As of January 31, 2024, Pakistan had a cumulative installed power generation capacity of 46,035 MW.
This impressive capacity comprises 28,811 MW from thermal sources, 10,635 MW from hydroelectric sources, 1,838 MW from wind energy, 882 MW from solar energy, 249 MW from bagasse, and 3,620 MW from nuclear power.
The closure of canals meant that the government had to run power plants based on the expensive fuel of high-speed diesel at a cost of Rs 45.6066 per unit to meet the demand of electricity.
Though its share of electricity in total generation was 102 Gwh or 1.22 percent its cost, at Rs 4.6 billion or Rs 45.6 per unit, offset the national average by a significant amount.
The government also produced electricity from another expensive fuel of furnace oil at cost of Rs 35.4 per unit. Furnace oil-based plants produced 750.4 Gwh at a cost of Rs 26.5 billion.
The share of electricity based on imported coal was 6.93 percent or 576 Gwh at a cost of Rs 21 per unit. The total cost of electricity stood at Rs 12.12 billion.
The electricity was generated with local gas at Rs. 13.7486/kWh, RLNG at Rs. 24.2952/kWh, nuclear at Rs. 1.3281/kWh, and imported Iranian energy at Rs. 32.8030/kWh.
The total electricity generated with various fuels was 8,314 GWh and the net amount delivered to DISCOs was 7,938 GWh in the month of January, 2024.
