ISLAMABAD, Dec 5: The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) on Friday determined a tariff of Rs4 per unit for the sale of electricity to industrial and commercial units by the small power producers (SPPs).

A Nepra statement said this tariff would have no bearing on electricity sales by Wapda companies or KESC. Wapda’s tariff for industrial and commercial consumers is slightly higher than this rate.

A list of 15 SPPs has also been released. The SPPs mentioned in the list would be required to

sell their surplus electricity to neighbouring units. These SPPs have already been granted generation licence and second tier supply authorization to provide electricity to dedicated consumers.

About 52 industrial units were allowed under the 1994 power policy to install generators at their units for self power generation and sell surplus to their neighbouring units.

Wapda had resisted SPPs’ electricity sales to neighbouring units saying they took away Wapda’s prime industrial consumers. However, Nepra granted licences to 15 of them to sell power to adjacent industrial units after meeting their own requirement.

The Nepra said the SPPs shall charge their consumers only the second tier supply charge which has been fixed at Rs4 per unit. In case any SPP or its consumer

is interested in revision of this tariff on any specific ground it would have to submit a tariff revision petition under the Nepra rules.

A Nepra official said that these industrial units consumed about 85 per cent of the energy they produced and the remaining 15 per cent was being sold mainly to other industrial units besides a couple of commercial consumers.

The companies on which this tariff is applicable include: Bhanero Energy, Lahore; Century Power Generation, Karachi; Crescent Powertec, Lahore; D.S. Power, Lahore; Elahi Electric Company, Lahore; Gulistan Power, Lahore; ICI Pakistan Powergen, Lahore; Ideal Energy, Faisalabad; Kohinoor Genertek, Lahore; Mahmood Power, Multan; Maple Leaf Company, Lahore; Monnoo Energy, Lahore, Quetta Textile Mills, Karachi; Sapphire Power, Karachi; and Sitara Energy, Faisalabad.