Nepra projects huge jump in power tariffs with consumption declining

ISLAMABAD: A colossal increase in electricity prices is expected in the next quarter as part of the Quarterly Tariff Adjustments (QTAs) approved by the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) Thursday. Decline of 20 percent in Overall Electricity Consumption Noted by the Regulator Shows Reason for Sharply Increased Power Tariffs.

The cut of paisa 58 per unit would mean a net adjustment of only paisa 20 a unit, as the negative adjustment from July 2024 – paisa 37 a unit – will offset in September 2024, said Nepra, CPPA-G, and industrialists while appearing before a public hearing on a negative adjustment of paisa 58 a unit for August 2024.

Nepra is expected to approve a rise of up to Rs7.50 base power tariff. NTDC Board Chairman Dr. Fayyaz Chaudhry suggested that the decline in consumption was because of overcapacity in generation and undercapacity in transmission and the unplanned establishment of power plants in the south. He said the country’s challenge about electricity needed an integrated approach.

Two important industrialists, Arif Bilwani and Aamir Shaikh, pleaded that electricity consumption cannot rebound without incentives for the industry. According to Bilwani, the surplus power problem will persist only as long as the attractive tariff incentives fail to stimulate industrial demand. He suggested that the peaks and off-peak tariffs of industries must be standardized and special tariffs during holidays and increments in demand must also be legislated.

Shaikh concurred with this, stating that increasing sectors now prefer solar power or a cheaper alternative, like HSFO, for example, over the national grid. He points out concerns that in August, the negative FCA would be lower than expected meaning QTA would also rise.

MEMBER(Tariff and Finance) Mathar Niaz Rana said that the highest cause behind the overall 20% decline in total demand of all sectors, including industrial ones, was a remarkable surge in electricity tariffs. NEPRA Chairman Waseem Mukhtar agreed that such a decline in electric power consumption also grieved the authority where he mistakenly narrated that solar panel imports have more than doubled during the year.

Member Sindh Rafique Ahmad Shaikh points out repeatedly that in case of industrial closures, the main cause of falling consumption is invariably where demand for electricity in August went down 25 percent below what the regulator had projected. He criticized transferring shortfalls in revenues or Nepra Projects Huge Jump in Power Tariffs with Consumption Declining
ISLAMABAD: A colossal increase in electricity prices is expected in the next quarter as part of the Quarterly Tariff Adjustments (QTAs) approved by the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) Thursday. Decline of 20 percent in Overall Electricity Consumption Noted by the Regulator Shows Reason for Sharply Increased Power Tariffs.

The cut of paisa 58 per unit would mean a net adjustment of only paisa 20 a unit, as the negative adjustment from July 2024 – paisa 37 a unit – will offset in September 2024, said Nepra, CPPA-G, and industrialists while appearing before a public hearing on a negative adjustment of paisa 58 a unit for August 2024.

Nepra is expected to approve a rise of up to Rs7.50 base power tariff. NTDC Board Chairman Dr. Fayyaz Chaudhry suggested that the decline in consumption was because of overcapacity in generation and undercapacity in transmission and the unplanned establishment of power plants in the south. He said the country’s challenge about electricity needed an integrated approach.

Two important industrialists, Arif Bilwani and Aamir Shaikh, pleaded that electricity consumption cannot rebound without incentives for the industry. According to Bilwani, the surplus power problem will persist only as long as the attractive tariff incentives fail to stimulate industrial demand. He suggested that the peaks and off-peak tariffs of industries must be standardized and special tariffs during holidays and increments in demand must also be legislated.

Shaikh concurred with this, stating that increasing sectors now prefer solar power or a cheaper alternative, like HSFO, for example, over the national grid. He points out concerns that in August, the negative FCA would be lower than expected meaning QTA would also rise.

MEMBER(Tariff and Finance) Mathar Niaz Rana said that the highest cause behind the overall 20% decline in total demand of all sectors, including industrial ones, was a remarkable surge in electricity tariffs. NEPRA Chairman Waseem Mukhtar agreed that such a decline in electric power consumption also grieved the authority where he mistakenly narrated that solar panel imports have more than doubled during the year.

Member Sindh Rafique Ahmad Shaikh points out repeatedly that in case of industrial closures, the main cause of falling consumption is invariably where demand for electricity in August went down 25 percent below what the regulator had projected. He criticized transferring shortfalls in revenues or loans from Discos to consumers’ shoulders.

He was preceded by representatives from the field who included Wajid Chattha from NPCC who shared graphs that demonstrated a big drop in consumption was largely due to massive weather deviations, while Member Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Maqsood Anwar observed the closures being reported by industries themselves were due to high costs of electricity.from Discos to consumers’ shoulders.

He was preceded by representatives from the field who included Wajid Chattha from NPCC who shared graphs that demonstrated a big drop in consumption was largely due to massive weather deviations, while Member Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Maqsood Anwar observed the closures being reported by industries themselves were due to high costs of electricity.