ISLAMABAD: The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) on Friday notified Rs5.27 per unit additional fuel cost adjustment (FCA) to K-Electric to be charged to consumers for electricity they consumed in April.

This will help the Karachi-based private utility to mop up an additional amount of Rs10.16bn from consumers in upcoming billing month of July. The FCAs shall be applicable to all the consumer categories except lifeline consumers, Nepra said.

“The authority has approved FCA of Rs5.2718/kWh for April having an impact of Rs10,157 million, to be recovered in the bills of July,” a Nepra announcement said.

The K-Electric had demanded an FCA of Rs5.307 per unit with a revenue impact of Rs10.216bn but the regulator made some minor deductions and notified Rs5.27 per unit increase with Rs10.216bn revenue.

Nepra also recalled for the record that power purchase agreement between National Transmission & Despatch Company (NTDC) and KE was signed on January 26, 2010 for five years for sale/purchase of 650MW on basket rates. Subsequently, a decision was made by the Council of Common Interests (CCI) on Nov 8, 2012 for withdrawal of 300MW power from NTDC by KE.

The CCI decision had since been impugned by way of KE’s suits in Sindh High Court and no new agreement has been signed till date while K-Electric is continuing to draw energy from the national grid, which at present is around 1,100MW, without any contract.

The KE had earlier sought Rs4.86 per unit increase in FCA for April to generate Rs9.35bn from consumers but later revised its demand to Rs5.307 per unit. It said the increase was on account of higher tariff of national grid and RLNG cost for its own power generation. The price of furnace oil in April increased by 22pc from March.

The price of electricity from national grid in April increased by 14pc, it said, adding that the price of power from national grid of stood at Rs10.66 per unit as compared to Rs9.387 per unit in March.

Published in Dawn, June 25th, 2022