Islamabad:
Electricity consumers should obtain relief from more than RS2 per unit due to the reduction in electricity rates due to fuel adjustment costs for the month of January 2025.
The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) led a public audience on Thursday to examine a petition subject by the Central Electricity Purchase Agency (CPPA) to reduce the power rate to Rs2.0019 per unit.
CPPA managers informed the electricity regulator that the real fuel rate rose to RS11.0081 per unit compared to the reference price of RS13.0100 per unit, recording a reduction of RS2.0019 per unit due to the variation in the energy cost.
Electricity consumers will obtain a total relief of RS15.65 billion in their electricity bills. Consumers should obtain relief in their March electricity bills.
During the hearing, it was informed that hydroelectricity contributed 10.63% to total electricity production, while local coal represented 15.56%, with a cost of RS12.54 per unit. The imported coal, despite a lower share of 8.53%, was much more expensive to RS20.96 per unit.
RLNG’s share amounted to 18.92%, costing RS22.47 per unit, while the generation based on oven oil, although minimal at 1.34%, had the highest cost to RS30.34 per unit. Nuclear energy remained the cheapest source, covering 26.61% of the generation mixture to only RS1.81 per unit. In addition, electricity imported from Iran, constituting 0.41% of the total supply, reached a cost of RS26.34 per unit. The total energy delivered to nightclubs amounted to 7,816 GWh.
Relief of the agricultural sector
The electricity division informed during the hearing that a separate request was submitted to NEPRA, requesting a reduction in electricity prices specifically for the agricultural sector. The electricity division sent this request to NEPRA, aimed at providing negative relief in the adjustment of fuel costs (FCA) to farmers using agricultural tube wells and domestic consumers, consuming up to 300 electricity units.
However, representatives of the electricity division said that no additional subsidy for the agricultural tube wells were included in the budget. NEPRA officials assured that providing it with FCA help to agricultural consumers would not have a negative impact on the industrial sector.
It has also been revealed that the Sahiwal power plant operated with 65% imported coal. In addition, the net relief amounting to 74 parade per unit should be transmitted to consumers in March. As part of the winter package, 63% of electricity consumption was allocated to industries, while the remaining 37% belonged to other categories of consumers.
Despite the introduction of a winter package, electricity sales have not seen a significant increase. Officials have attributed the decline in agricultural and industrial electricity consumption to increased adoption of solar energy. Many agricultural consumers have moved to solar energy solutions, while industrial consumers also explore alternative energy sources.
NEPRA officials expressed their concerns about the drop in hydroelectric production due to precipitation and lower snowfall than expected. They looked for more details at the Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) concerning the planned water availability during the summer season.
A separate question concerning the implementation of the general sales tax (TPS) on the measure of the solar net has reached the NEPRA. However, the electricity division said that it had not yet received an official decision from the federal tax mediator (FTO). The officials said that the case could possibly be returned to the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) for new deliberations.
The president of the NEPRA asked the division of power to verify this problem. The officials replied that they would check FBR and inform the energy regulator.