ISLAMABAD: Industrial power consumers on Thursday criticised the revival of rising fuel costs in an unpredictable manner, despite the government’s commitments to declining electricity rates as a result of much-touted reforms in the sector and tariff renegotiations with power producers.

At a public hearing on Rs1.27 per unit additional fuel cost adjustments demanded by distribution companies (Discos), the majority of the interveners also criticised the power companies and the National Electricity Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) for disclosing insufficient data and opposed a regulatory decision unless full disclosures were made to reach examine detailed datasets.

The public hearing was presided over by Nepra Chairman Waseem Mukhtar, along with other members.

Industrial consumers, mostly from Karachi, including the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry, stated that the higher FCA effectively reduced the overall tariff reduction announced by the prime minister from Rs7.41 per unit to approximately Rs3 per unit for April and may further dilute in May.

They said they had worked out their business orders based on official commitments for tariff reductions, but the latest results were surprising. The situation was further aggravated by insufficient disclosure of data, and even the information provided on the Nepra website was not user-friendly and illegible, even with a magnifying glass.

They also criticised the government for partial implementation of commitments to IMF in shifting industrial captive power plants to the national grid from gas supply without putting in place a weighted average cost of gas (WACOG)-based gas supply — the mix of local and imported gas — to the power sector to ensure lower tariff under the same agreement.

As a result, the power tariff remained unaffordable due to higher-than-estimated LNG use, but the industrial sector, particularly the export sector, was also deprived of gas supply. “This is a lack of planning”, one of the commentators said.

Others also criticised the government and its companies for the continuous unavailability of the Rs500bn Neelum-Jhelum project, resulting in a loss of 1.5 billion cheaper units in April besides partial and inefficient use of the Guddu 747MW plant and some others as well.

Published in Dawn, May 30th, 2025