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NEPRA raises power tariff by Rs1.83 per unit

NEPRA raises power tariff by Rs1.83 per unit
November 5, 2019
ISLAMABAD (92 News) – The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) has officially increased the per-unit price of electricity by Rs1.83 on Tuesday. The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) has increased power price by Rs1.82 per unit under the head monthly fuel price adjustment for the month of September 2019. The decision has been undertaken under the pretext of fuel adjustment. The consumers would now have to bear an additional load of Rs24 billion due to the increased pricing. Earlier on Oct 2, the NEPRA had approved to increase electricity prices by Rs1.66 per unit. The rates have been surged for one month under fuel adjustment of August. The hike will put additional burden of Rs22.60 billion on the consumers. NEPRA case officer maintained that Rs 3.4 billion could have been saved by using coal power plants for electricity production. It is to be noted that, on September 25, CPPA has recommended an increase in electricity tariffs by Rs 1.86 per unit. The fuel adjustment will be extended for one month in August, it added. Central Power Purchasing Agency (CPPA) sent an application to NEPRA and decision on hike in power rates will be made on October 2. According to CPPA, 40.33 percent electricity was generated from hydropower plants and 13.34 percent from coal in August.  Electricity was produced by 11.87pc from local gas and 22.89pc from imported LNG, 3.60pc from furnace oil and 4.66pc from atomic sources. On March 29, 2019, the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) had increased the power tariff by 55 paisa per unit for all the power distribution companies, except K-Electric, on account of fuel price adjustment for April. The Central Power Purchasing Agency (CPPA) on behalf of the distribution companies (DISCOs) had filed a petition for tariff increase saying the actual fuel cost in April was higher than that charged to the consumers and hence an increase of 57 paisa per unit be allowed to be recovered from consumers next month.