The federal government has announced the reduction of electricity prices by Rs2 per unit for the second quarter of the 2024-25 financial year. The move, if approved, will bring relief of Rs52 billion to consumers from March 2025 onwards.
The power distribution companies have already filed their proposals with NEPRA (National Electric Power Regulatory Authority) that is to conduct public hearing on February 12. Once all the arrangements go smoothly the new rates are likely to reflect in the electricity bills of the next three months i.e March April and May. But relief would not be offered to the lifeline consumers. Lifeline consumers are those consumers who consume little electricity. Customers of K-Electric, however, would get relief due to this cut.
In a separate adjustment, the Central Power Purchase Agency (CPPA) announced that consumers will only see a slight 28-paise per unit decrease in February despite a larger drop in fuel costs. This is because some of the adjustments were already factored into January bills.
Meanwhile, the government’s attempt to get additional relief for consumers by reducing sales tax on electricity bills was rejected by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The Ministry of Energy had requested the tax cut to lower financial pressure on consumers but the IMF refused.
If NEPRA approves the new rates then many household and business electricity cost could see a smaller reduction in coming months. However, it is still to be seen whether further relief measures will be announced to help the incoming distress of consumers.
