ISLAMABAD: (Nepra) The Nati­onal Electric Power Regu­latory Authority on Friday notified an additional Rs3.33 per unit fuel cost adjustment (FCA) for May consumption, allowing ex-Wapda distribution companies (Discos) to raise an additional Rs41 billion in July.

In contrast, the regulator announced a Rs1.67 per unit reduction in FCA for K-Electric consumers based on their April consumption, which will be reflected in their current bills. This will result in an overall financial impact of around Rs2.35bn. K-Electric had proposed a Rs1.17 per unit negative FCA, amounting to a Rs1.67bn refund to consumers, but Nepra revised this to Rs1.67 per unit.

The KE’s negative adjustment will apply to all consumer categories except lifeline consumers, domestic users consuming up to 300 units, electric vehicle charging stations and agriculture consumers. However, domestic consumers with Time of Use (ToU) meters will benefit from this reduction regardless of their consumption levels.

Regarding Discos, Nepra said it “reviewed and assessed a National Average Uniform increase of Rs3.3287 per kWh (kilowatt-hour) in the applicable tariff for XWDISCOs on account of variations in the fuel charges for the month of May 2024”.

The net increase for Discos’ consumers would range between Rs11 and Rs14 per unit in the current month, given the applicability of the base tariff increase of Rs5.75 to Rs7.12 per unit already approved by the cabinet and pending the formality of Nepra’s consent on July 8.

The Rs3.33 per unit additional FCA would translate into Rs5.50 per unit because of partial spillover to the quarterly adjustment to follow later.

The Central Power Purch­asing Agency (CPPA) had sought permission to collect Rs41.87bn additional revenue in July through Rs3.4133 per unit additional FCA for May consumption over the reference tariff of Rs5.71 per unit already charged to consumers in May.

It said the actual average fuel cost in May amounted to Rs9.122 per unit. This is almost 60 per cent higher than the pre-fixed fuel cost and calls into question the capabilities of the power sector bureaucracy to forecast fuel costs even for six to seven months. The additional FCAs have ranged between 50pc and 115pc in recent months than pre-determined fuel costs notified at the start of the current fiscal year.