The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) on Thursday approved a 20-paisa per unit increase in electricity rates nationwide, including for K-Electric consumers, for the month of December. The adjustment is part of the Quarterly Tariff Adjustment (QTA) for the first quarter (July-September) of the current fiscal year.
In its official order, Nepra stated, “A positive quarterly adjustment of Rs1.187 billion, about the first quarter of FY25, will be applied at a uniform rate of Rs0.1957/kWh for all consumer categories, except lifeline and prepaid consumers, for a period of one month, i.e., December 2024.”
Nepra clarified in a separate statement that, despite the 20-paisa increase, electricity tariffs in December would actually be Rs1.54 per unit lower than the current rates. This is because an earlier quarterly adjustment of Rs1.74 per unit, applicable for the fourth quarter of FY24, expired in November and will be replaced by the smaller 20-paisa adjustment in December.
The Ex-Wapda distribution companies (Discos) had initially requested an additional quarterly tariff adjustment of Rs6.4 billion for the July-September period, which would have resulted in a 36-paisa per unit increase for three months. However, after modifications by Discos and recalculations by Nepra, the total additional QTA was reduced to Rs1.187 billion, translating to an increase of about seven paise per unit over three months.
Nepra decided to combine the three-month impact into a single adjustment of 20 paise per unit, to be applied in December.
The quarterly adjustment of Rs0.1957/kWh will also apply to K-Electric consumers, except for lifeline and prepaid users, and will be recovered in December 2024.
