Govt to refund excess payments to power consumers

ISLAMABAD: The government of Pakistan has announced plans to refund excess payments made by electricity consumers, which is expected to reduce electricity costs by 30 paisas per unit.

This decision follows the Central Power Purchasing Agency (CPPA) filing for next month‘s Adjustments to Fuel Charging (FAC) to consider monthly price changes for February.

The CPPA stated that a total of 6.495 billion units were bought for electricity generation in February, at a unit cost of Rs 8.22. The electricity generation mix was 27.12% hydropower, 15.02% indigenous coal, 1.56% imported coal, 10.32% gas, 14.11% imported liquefied natural gas (LNG), and 26.59% nuclear fuel in February.

NEPRA is expected to listen to CPPA’s petition for the adjustment of monthly price changes, which could lead to consumers engaging in tariff modification since NEPRA is the price regulator for this marketplace.

NEPRA previously announced a power tariff cut of up to Rs3 per unit for fuel charge adjustment, which provided customers with the price cut as a reflection of that overcharge, allowing for refunds for the Discos’ customers for January 2025 and KE for its users for December 2024.

The Fuel Charge Adjustments are made to acknowledge shifts in global fuel prices and generation mix, with NEPRA examining and adjusting these costs downward, and checking that the price impacts are passed onto consumers.