ISLAMABAD, Dec 18: The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority on Wednesday reduced electricity rates between 12 to 19 paisa per unit for various categories of consumers under the quarterly automatic fuel adjustment mechanism.

The tariff reduction for Wapda companies would have been even higher had the furnace oil price not increased by over Rs1,000 per ton two days ago. An amount of Rs490 million had to be discounted from the tariff reduction because of Dec 16 fuel price increase.

A Nepra announcement said the power tariff for residential consumers and agricultural tubewells has been reduced by 12 paisa per unit, 19 paisa per unit for commercial consumers, 16 paisa per unit for industrial, bulk, railway traction, Azad Kashmir and public lighting and 16 paisa per unit for the KESC.

The tariff of residential consumers consuming up to 50 units per month of Wapda distribution companies has not been decreased because their tariff had not been increased in previous determinations.

The tariff reduction took into consideration the variation of furnace oil at Rs11,406 per ton on Oct 2, to Rs10,437 per ton on Dec 16. As a result of this variation, the annual fuel bill of Wapda distribution companies had decreased as compared to the tariff review in the last quarterly adjustment of October 2002.

The Nepra said the net effect on account of fuel variation has decreased the estimated fuel bills of Wapda companies from Rs79.84 billion to Rs76.25 billion after incorporating the actual hydro power generation.