ISLAMABAD: The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) has issued a notification to increase the basic electricity rates by Rs 7.50 per unit on the request of the federal government.
In a notification issued on Tuesday, the Power Regulatory Authority said the new tariff will be applicable from July 1, 2023.
It added that the federal government’s tariff hike request was approved after a public hearing held at Nepra Tower Islamabad on Monday (July 24).
During the hearing, the power ministry said the increase requested through an “instant motion” is within the gross revenue requirement set by Nepra and despite the proposed increase, the government is taking a subsidy of Rs 158 billion.
The federal cabinet last Saturday approved a massive hike in the basic electricity tariff to Rs 7.50 per unit while the national average tariff was fixed at Rs 4.96 by the power regulator.
Sources told JEE News that the cabinet gave its approval through circulation summary and submitted the application to Nepra.
A day ago, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had said that Lifeline (up to 100 units) and protected category of consumers (101-200 units per month) would be exempted from the recent steep hike in electricity rates.
Earlier this week, the regulator also hiked tariffs to boost revenue collection for loss-making power distribution companies (Discos) during the current financial year.
The federal government sought Cabinet approval by adjusting different rates of increase for different categories of consumers through cross-subsidy, though without affecting the overall revenue requirement.
According to a Nepra statement, the revised national average tariff for the financial year 2023-24 has been fixed at Rs 29.78 per unit kWh, which is Rs 4.96 per unit higher than the previously fixed national average tariff of Rs 24.82.
While the regulator cited rupee depreciation, inflation and interest rates, new capacity additions and overall lower sales as the reasons behind the increase, the increase was actually attributed to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). was done to fulfill one of the conditions laid down by Introducing structural reforms in the energy sector.
However, the applicable tariff will be higher after including monthly and quarterly adjustments plus surcharges, taxes, duties and levies.
