ISLAMABAD – In view of decline in international prices of fuel and extensive loadshedding in December, the Central Power Purchase Agency (CPPA) has asked the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) to cut power tariff for a month by Rs3.2 per unit. The latter has admitted the request for formal hearing.
If approved, the cut will be applicable to all distribution companies except K-Electric. The relief will be given to consumers in the billing month of February.
Nepra had approved reference fuel tariff of about Rs9.53 per unit last year when furnace oil price stood at Rs75,000 per ton, said the CPPA. The price has since come down to a little over Rs40,000. As a result, the actual fuel cost has declined to Rs6.32 per unit, requiring a reduction of Rs3.2 per unit. On top of that, the power sector’s reliance on furnace oil dropped significantly because of limited supplies in the wake of the Pakistan State Oil’s inability to import fuel as banks cancelled credit lines due to huge receivables.
Thus, the water and power ministry followed the policy of increasing loadshedding. As a consequence, many power plants remained idle and the monthly fuel price component of the tariff declined considerably.
