On Wednesday, the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) approved a fuel cost adjustment for the month of May, resulting in an increase of Rs1.90 per unit in electricity prices. This decision was made in response to a petition filed by the Central Power Purchasing Agency (CPPA), which had requested a higher increase of Rs2.05 per unit.
As a result of the price hike, consumers will bear an additional burden of Rs23 billion. However, it’s important to note that agricultural and lifeline consumers will be exempt from this increase. Nepra will release a detailed decision on this matter at a later time.
Authorities have stated that the increase in RLNG (Regasified Liquefied Natural Gas) usage instead of coal in May was responsible for the change. This shift was made due to the higher cost of electricity production from coal. Additionally, faults in the transmission lines have contributed to increased losses. The Gaddu-Jamshoro transmission line, for instance, has encountered five faults within the past six months.
Nepra has expressed concerns about these ongoing faults and outages in the transmission lines, emphasizing that the failure to provide affordable electricity in a timely manner is an injustice to consumers. Furthermore, Nepra officials have revealed that not only theft but also employees of the National Transmission and Dispatch Company (NTDC) are involved in the thefts occurring in the southern region’s transmission lines.
