ISLAMABAD: Despite continuously sliding oil prices in the international market, consumers of Karachi and adjoining areas would face 57 paisa per unit increase in their electricity tariff in the next billing month on account of monthly fuel adjustment for power consumed in November last year.

The decision was approved at a public hearing presided over by the Chairman of the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority, retired Brig Tariq Sadozai, on Tuesday on a request of K-Electric.

KE’s adviser Abdul Rauf Yousaf Quettawala presented his company’s case.

This is unlike the reduction in tariff being enjoyed by consumers in other parts of the country for several months because of lower cost of electricity generation arising out of a sharp decline in the global prices of furnace oil.

For the same month (November), Nepra had to reduce power tariff by Rs2.06 per unit for all other distribution companies which has been passed on to consumers in the current month’s bill.

The K-Electric management had sought the tariff increase of about 58 paisa per unit, but Nepra allowed 57 paisa hike in fuel price adjustment.

The increase would not be applicable to domestic consumers using less than 50 units.

K-Electric had pleaded that it faced an increase in fuel cost of Rs700.593 million in electricity generation from external resources, mostly from the national grid (National Transmission and Dispatch Company).

KE said the power generated by its own plants had come down by Rs38.29m in November. However, the power procured from external sources had higher fuel cost of Rs738.884m, which resulted in an increase of 57.66 paisa per unit.

During November, KE supplied 1.215 billion units of electricity to consumers.

Nepra Chairman Sadozai expressed displeasure that KE had not utilised 450MW of its own available generation capacity and instead kept on procuring power from the NTDC.

The KE adviser informed the regulator that it did not utilise its plants to full capacity because of the loadshedding policy. Nepra was told that the company received 80 per cent of electricity from NTDC, whereas 20pc was generated from its own resources.

The adviser said that low gas pressure was another factor for lower power production from KE’s own plants.

The Nepra chairman directed the power regulator’s staff to verify KE’s claim and submit a report.

Published in Dawn, January 20th, 2016