ISLAMABAD: The federal government and the Karachi-based consumer segments on Tuesday opposed allowing about Rs60 billion in claims to K-Electric under End-of-Term (EoT) adjustments for the multi-year tariff (MYT) period 2017-23.

At the conclusion of the public hearing on Tuesday, the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) said KE’s petition regarding EoT adjustments was within the approved MYT framework for the control period 2017-23.

Without giving a final judgment, Nepra said “the mechanisms for these adjustments were incorporated and approved by Nepra in MYT determination for FY17-FY23 and mid-term review determination, which envisaged specific components to be reviewed at the end of the control period through a prescribed regulatory mechanism”.

During the hearing, KE demanded the cumulative EoT adjustment claim of Rs43.6bn that included components relating to the impact of exchange rate variations on the allowed return on equity (RoE), investment-related adjustments, and working capital actualisation based on actual balances versus projected benchmarks approved under the MYT framework.

KE’s Senior Director Finance Ayaz Amir also sought approval of pass-through claims relating to taxes paid worth around Rs18.5bn, saying this was strictly in compliance with Nepra’s MYT determination.

Speaking on behalf of the government, Additional Secretary, Power Division, Mehfooz Bhatti, contested these claims, saying they were exaggerated and should be rationalised based on detailed financial workings provided by the Power Division. He also demanded that working capital costs should be revised downward.

Karachi-based industrialists Rehan Javed, Tanveer Barry and others bemoaned that KE had blocked its payables to consumers, including Rs32bn determined by the Nepra under the clawback mechanism through thousands of court cases over decades, but was quick to claim backdated adjustments in its favour.

They said the burden should not be shifted to Karachiites or to taxpayers through government subsidies. They said the utility had already begun experiencing equipment shortages, that its Saudi investors had moved out, and that prospective Chinese investors had backed off.

Published in Dawn, May 13th, 2026