WEB DESK
Residents of Karachi, who have been troubled by exorbitant power bills can expect some relief in their next bill after the national power regulator decided to reduce power tariffs by Rs2.14 per unit for October under quarterly fuel cost adjustment (FCA).
The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) approved the tariff reduction following an application by the division’s power utility, K-Electric.
Nepra officials approved the reduction in the cost of electricity after noting that a violation of the merit order had slapped an additional burden of Rs1 billion on consumers. Electricity generated by KE using its resources costs Rs32.96 per unit. Moreover, the price of electricity purchased from the Central Power Purchasing Agency (CPPA) stood at Rs12.1 per unit.
While not applicable to KE’s lifeline customers, the reduction in power tariff will bring a relief of Rs3.59 billion to consumers. In contrast, Nepra said that KE customers would see a rise in the prices of electricity from December 2022 to March 2023. It did not explain why there would be an increase. For domestic consumers who consume up to 200 units, electricity will cost Rs1.48 per unit more, while those using more than 200 units will have to pay an additional Rs3.21 per unit. Industrial consumers will have to fork out an additional Rs4.45 per unit of power consumed.
