ISLAMABAD: Tariff for electricity consumers in Karachi has been reduced by 19 paisa per unit on account of fuel price adjustment to be passed on to them in bills for March.

According to a notification issued by the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra), tariff reduction has been allowed for the consumption month of August last year.

The reduction will not benefit lifeline and agricultural consumers because they are exempt from any tariff increases.

The regulator expressed dissatisfaction with the KESC's treatment of heat rate claims against 560MW Bin Qasim power plant and directed it not to include variations in the plant's heat rate until a satisfactory test was conducted as directed earlier.Nepra also noted discrepancies in calculation of subsidies on account of gas load management programme (GLMP) under which the government bears the burden of differential between the cost of furnace oil and natural gas in case of short gas supply for power generation.

The KESC had told the regulator that the ministries of water and power and finance had decided that the fuel cost subsidy during Aug-Sept period should be adjusted in the tariff through quarterly adjustment as 'unrecovered cost', instead of adjusting it in monthly fuel charge adjustment.

When verified from the two ministries, Nepra was told that the benefit of subsidy under the GLMP to KESC for August should not be adjusted in monthly fuel charge adjustment because it would burden the national exchequer and create disparity between consumers of Karachi and other parts of the country.