The government is expected to announce an effective increase of 26 paise per unit in December’s power tariffs, following the expiration of a negative fuel cost adjustment (FCA) of Rs. 1.28 per unit. This adjustment comes after the Central Power Purchasing Agency (CPPA) initially sought a Rs. 1.02 per unit negative FCA for October bills.
With the current negative FCA set to expire in November, December bills are likely to reflect the 26-paise per unit increase. If approved, this adjustment will be applied to December bills but will not affect domestic users consuming up to 300 units per month. Monthly FCAs account for fuel cost variations, while other costs are incorporated into the quarterly base tariffs determined by the federal government.
During a public hearing, CPPA representatives noted that October’s power supply costs were slightly above reference fuel costs by at least 6.8 percent. In October, over 71 percent of electricity was generated from domestic fuels, with hydropower contributing 31 percent, LNG-based power 19.5 percent, and local coal 14.8 percent.
The most expensive electricity was generated from furnace oil at Rs. 29.14 per unit, while nuclear energy remained the cheapest at Rs. 1.51 per unit. Electricity consumption reached 9.98 billion units in October, with fuel costs falling 19 percent compared to the same month last year.
