National Electric Power Regulatory Authority Approves Tariff Increase for Ex-Wapda Discos

Tariff Adjustment Based on Fuel Charges Variation

The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) has granted permission for an increase in power tariff for the Ex-Wapda Discos (XWDISCOs) due to fuel charges adjustments (FCA) in April.

Increase in Applicable Tariff

According to NEPRA’s decision, the applicable tariff for Ex-WAPDA DISCOs will see a rise of Rs1.6075/kWh. This adjustment is based on the variation in fuel charges during April 2023.

Petition by CPPA-G

The Central Power Purchasing Agency-Guarantee (CPPA-G), representing power distribution companies (XWDISCOs), submitted a petition to NEPRA requesting permission to pass on the increase of Rs2.0100/unit to the consumers. The petition stated that the consumers’ reference fuel charges for April were Rs8.3875/unit.

NEPRA’s Analysis and Decision

After conducting a public hearing and analyzing the data, NEPRA concluded that the actual cost of electricity was Rs9.9950/unit, while the reference fuel charges from consumers were Rs8.3875/unit. Therefore, NEPRA approved a hike of Rs1.6075/unit instead of the CPPA-G’s claimed Rs2.010/unit.

Impact on Power Consumers

This decision by NEPRA will burden power consumers with over Rs20 billion in their June bills.

Fuel Cost Adjustment for Power Plants

Downward Adjustment for Several Power Plants

In April 2023, the fuel cost for several power plants, including Foundation Power, Saif Power, Halmore 43, and Thar Coal Block-I, was adjusted downward. As a result, the CPPA’s claim for these power plants reduced by Rs160.2,756 million, as per the NEPRA decision.

Energy Generation and System Constraints

During April 2023, it was observed that costly power plants generated energy. However, the system operator limited the withdrawal of energy from efficient power plants due to various reasons.

Factors Affecting Energy Withdrawal

The reasons for limiting energy withdrawal from efficient power plants included:

Transmission network congestion/overloading amounting to Rs2,079 million.
Contractual obligations costing Rs.306 million.
Permanent transmission line outage costing Rs757 million.
Financial impact due to underutilization of efficient power plants of Rs584 million.

Provisional Withholding and Deduction

Considering these factors, the Authority provisionally withheld an amount of Rs3,726 million from the FCA claim for April 2023. The withheld amount will only be released when the National Transmission and Dispatch Company (NTDC) provides complete justification to satisfy the Authority.

As the deduction is made due to deviations from the Economic Merit Order (EMO) by the NTDC’s subsidiary, the Authority has directed the CPPA-G to pass on the impact of the deduction to NTDC.

Tariff Increase and Consumer Categories

This tariff increase will apply to all consumer categories except Electric Vehicle Charging Stations (EVCS) and lifeline consumers.