The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) have decided to increase the electricity price by Rs1 per unit.
Pakistan’s electricity distribution companies have asked NEPRA to approve an additional financial burden of more than Rs23 billion on consumers for the next three months.
NEPRA has completed a public hearing on a request seeking an increase of around Rs1 per unit in electricity prices. The regulator is expected to announce its final decision after reviewing the relevant data and records.
During the hearing, chaired by the NEPRA chairman, distribution companies sought a total adjustment of Rs49.74 billion under the second-quarter adjustment for the current financial year.
The Central Power Purchasing Agency (CPPA) told the regulator that power companies had also requested Rs4.95 billion for operation and maintenance expenses.
Industrial consumers opposed the proposed increase, arguing that higher electricity prices would increase pressure on businesses already facing difficult economic conditions. They called for the decision to increase electricity prices to be deferred.
Officials from the Power Division told the hearing that the rapid expansion of solar power in Pakistan was affecting electricity sales.
However, NEPRA member Anwar Maqsood offered a different view on the impact of solarisation. He said that without solar power, the country could currently be facing severe load-shedding.
He argued that it would therefore be inaccurate to simply attribute lower electricity sales to the increasing use of solar energy.
NEPRA has now completed the hearing on the proposed Rs1 per unit increase. The authority will examine the submitted data before making a final decision on whether the adjustment should be passed on to consumers.
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