ISLAMABAD: The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) has notified an increase in electricity tariff by up to Rs1.55 per unit for all distribution companies of Wapda.

Through a series of orders, the regulator notified tariff adjustments under the monthly fuel mechanism for eight months starting from August 2012 to March 2013 and put in place a mechanism for recovery of these adjustments from consumers in five months, starting in June 2013 to October 2013.

The tariff adjustments will not apply to lifeline consumers using less than 50 units a month and the consumers of Karachi Electric Supply Company.

The tariff adjustments had earlier been restrained by the Lahore and Islamabad High Courts.

Now with the end of the stay orders, Nepra has issued the notifications to enable Wapda’s power distribution companies to start recovering revised tariffs from consumers.

Under the notifications, the average tariff for the distribution companies had been reduced by 5 paisa per unit for the month of August 2012 and increased by 5 paisa per unit for September and 4 paisa per unit for October. This will be followed by 91 paisa per unit increase for November.

The cumulative impact of the adjustments for the four months (August-November 2012) translates into an increase of 94 paisa per unit. Nepra ordered the distribution companies to recover this increase from consumers from June this year.

For the month of December 2012, the regulator determined an increase of Rs1.33 per unit over the average base tariff and ordered the companies to recover it in the billing month of July 2013.

Nepra also notified an increase of Rs1.55 per unit in the average sale rates for the month of January this year and its recovery from August. Another 64 paisa per unit increase in electricity rates worked out for February will be recovered in the billing month of September this year while an increase of Rs1.33 per unit for March 2013 will be recovered from consumers in October this year.

Under the monthly fuel adjustment mechanism, Nepra is required to pass on the impact of variation in cost of power generation arising out of market based changes in the fuel prices including the cost of fuel mix.

The Islamabad High Court had in October 2014 declared the application of fuel charges adjustment as unlawful and hence the recovery of Nepra-determined fuel adjustment could not be implemented. Through an intra-court appeal, a two-member bench of the Islamabad High Court had suspended the single-member bench of the same court.

In separate petitions, the Lahore High Court had also maintained the decision of Nepra in respect of fuel price adjustment but directed that residential consumers consuming 350 units would be exempt from the levy of fuel price adjustment.

The increase in tariff came at a time the country returned after a week of relief to widespread load-shedding that exceeded an average of 11 hours on the countrywide basis. Sources at the ministry of water and power said the ministry of finance and petroleum and natural resources had withdrawn special support they had extended to the power sector on the eve of elections.