Pakistan's federal cabinet approves hike of PKR 5.72 per unit in basic power tariff

According to details, the federal cabinet has approved the rise in electricity tariff through a circulation summary, according to the source. The sources said the decision will be sent to the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) for uniform tariff implementation, according to ARY News report.

The Power Division will register an application with NEPRA regarding the tariff increase. NEPRA has taken this decision for the fiscal year 2024-2025, with the implementation set to start on July 1, 2024. The average basic electricity tariff has been approved to be raised from PKR 29.78 to PKR 35.50.

In a report, the National Electronic Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) revealed that Pakistan's power sector caused a PKR 403 billion loss in the Financial Year 2022-23, ARY News reported.

The NEPRA has released the progress report of the power distribution companies including K-Electric, indicating nine distribution companies including K-Electric did not achieve 100 per cent recovery. The line losses and low recoveries caused a loss of PKR 403 billion to Pakistan, according to the report.

The companies did not purchase electricity as per the assigned quota, ARY News reported, citing the report. The power companies were conducting loadshedding 'deliberately' as they are not purchasing electricity as per their quotas, according to the report.

Earlier in June, the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) announced a substantial increase of nearly 20 per cent in the uniform national tariff, aimed at securing approximately PKR 3.8 trillion in funding for the 10 ex-Wapda electricity distribution companies (Discos) during the fiscal year 2024-25, Dawn reported.

This adjustment is expected to generate an additional PKR 485 billion in revenue for Discos, bolstering the government's position in securing an IMF bailout slated for July, according to Dawn report.

Nepra clarified that the government retains the authority to apply varying rates of increase across different consumer categories through cross-subsidies, ensuring the overall revenue requirements set by the regulator remain unaffected. (ANI)