Islamabad, Apr 4, 2025: The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) has authorized a negative Fuel Cost Adjustment (FCA) of Rs 3.021 per unit for K-Electric consumers for January 2025.
This decision mandates K-Electric to refund approximately Rs 2.930 billion to its customers in the April 2025 billing cycle.
In a public hearing held on March 20, various consumer categories from Karachi voiced their objections regarding the adjustment of previous dues on multiple grounds. Despite these concerns, Nepra concluded that a negative FCA of Rs 3.0218 per kilowatt-hour (kWh)
Totaling Rs 2.930 billion, should be provisionally applied. This provisional adjustment is subject to future modifications based on the determination of K-Electric’s Multi-Year Tariff (MYT) for the fiscal years 2024-30.
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The negative FCA will be applicable to all consumer categories, excluding lifeline consumers, domestic protected consumers, Electric Vehicle Charging Stations (EVCS), and prepaid electricity consumers who have opted for prepaid tariffs.
If any April 2025 bills are issued prior to this decision’s notification, the adjustment will be applied in the subsequent billing cycle
To prevent future consumer burden from pending costs, National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) has provisionally withheld Rs 7.453 billion from the FCAs of November and December 2024.
Despite this withholding, approximately Rs 6 billion remains pending. Consequently, National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) has decided to withhold an additional Rs 2 billion from the negative FCA of Rs 4.930 billion for January 2025.
Furthermore, K-Electric has submitted a request for a negative FCA adjustment of Rs 6.662 billion (Rs 6.62 per kWh) for February 2025.
In January 2025, K-Electric experienced an 8% reduction in overall electricity sales compared to January 2024, with industrial sales seeing a notable decline of 8.3%.
This significant drop has raised concerns among stakeholders, prompting calls for immediate investigation to identify underlying causes and implement corrective measures.
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Additionally, delays in establishing the interconnection between the National Transmission and Despatch Company (NTDC) and K-Electric are adversely affecting fuel costs related to K-Electric’s generation mix.
In January 2025, K-Electric’s own power plants contributed 4% to the energy mix, while purchases from Independent Power Producers (IPPs) accounted for 7%, and NTDC supplied the remaining 89%.
Notably, the generation cost from NTDC is significantly lower at Rs 11.15 per kWh, compared to K-Electric’s own generation cost of Rs 23.83 per kWh.
These developments underscore the complexities within Pakistan’s power sector, highlighting the need for strategic interventions to address declining sales, escalating generation costs, and the financial stability of utilities like K-Electric.
