On Friday, the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) approved an increase of Rs 1.38 per unit in power tariff.
According to an order along with schedule of tariff (SOT) released by NEPRA the increase will be collected in September bills under monthly fuel adjustment, however, the increase in electricity prices will not apply to K-Electric customers. The increase will apply to all Discos customers except lifeline customers.
The government was expected to increase the electricity charges it had put on hold in April as part of reviewed Circular Debt Management Plan (CDMP) and efforts to guarantee constant foreign inflows from loaning agencies mainly the World Bank, the IMF, and the Asian Development Bank.
According to the notification, the Central Power Purchasing Agency-Guaranteed (CPPA-G) had requested for an increase of Rs 1.47 per unit in the price of electricity.
The authority held a public hearing on the FCA on September 1, in the light of which it was decided to increase the price.
Read more: NEPRA slashes power tariff by Rs 0.07 per unit
Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin, Energy Minister Hammad Azhar, SAPM on Power and Petroleum Tabish Gauhar, and secretaries of finance and power along with other senior officials of the two divisions, on Tuesday, had a comprehensive negotiation to shape up the exact size of the tariff increase besides other procedures to contain and reduce circular debt.
“We want a final shape of the CDMP shared with the IMF and the World Bank by next weekend to have some sort of understanding within 15 days,” a senior government official expressed to the media.
Meanwhile, the finance minister “stressed upon exploring cost-effective options such as renewable sources of energy for a sustainable energy equation by reducing reliance on expensive power producing plants in order to make the energy sector dynamic and sustainable”.
