The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) has announced a reduction of Re 0.18 per unit in electricity prices for consumers in Karachi as part of the September 2024 monthly adjustment, News reported.
The reduction will be reflected in electricity bills issued for December 2024.
However, this adjustment will not apply to consumers using up to 300 units per month, according to Nepra’s notification.
According to NewsK-Electric submitted a petition to Nepra in October, proposing a refund of Re 0.16 per unit to consumers as part of the September 2024 Fuel Charge Adjustments (FCA).
This reimbursement, totaling approximately Rs247 million, constitutes a rare case where the utility is ready to offer relief to consumers.
In October, the Karachi-based power utility filed an application with Nepra stating that it was ready to refund Re 0.16 per unit to consumers under the monthly FCA for September 2024, for a total of approximately Rs 247 million.
In its application, K-Electric argued that the reimbursement was consistent with Nepra’s previous decisions on interim monthly fuel cost adjustments for the period July 2023-June 2024.
The company had highlighted that interim FCAs were permitted based on the parameters outlined in the Multi-Year Tariff (MYT) for 2017-2023, and adjustments may be implemented once the MYT for 2024-2030 is finalized.
The FCAs for September 2024 were calculated using the interim tariff established in March 2023 as a reference point.
K-Electric’s submission included detailed calculations and supporting documentation for Nepra’s assessment and approval.
Although the current refund is notable, consumers in Karachi face further adjustments compared to previous months.
For December 2024 bills, K-Electric has been allowed to collect an additional Rs 3.0362 per unit, which will impact consumers by Rs 6.105 billion.
In October and November, the regulator approved collections of Rs2.5934 and Rs3.1688 per unit, respectively, based on the May and June 2024 FCAs.
On the other hand, K-Electric’s FCA for August 2024 added a charge of Rs 0.4013 per unit to the January 2025 bills.
This adjustment helped the utility collect Rs 674 million in a month, with 18% GST taking the total to Rs 795 million.
Fees exclude essential consumers, electric vehicle charging stations and prepaid meter users.
The proposed refund marks the first time over an extended period that K-Electric has offered a refund to its customers.