ISLAMABAD: Despite repea­ted pronouncements by PM Imran Khan to have frozen energy prices until June, power companies working under the Power Division have sought up to Rs2 per unit increase in electricity rates for three months under monthly fuel price adjustments.

The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) has fixed three separate petitions filed by the Central Power Purchasing Agency (CPPA) on behalf of 10 ex-Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) distribution companies for public hearing on Mar 25.

A CPPA official, when contacted, said a meeting at the Power Division had directed the agency to follow standard operating procedures to fulfil legal and regulatory requirements of filing petitions to Nepra for tariff adjustment until PM’s directives were materialised through formal decision making forums for implementation.

He conceded that PM had made public statements at different forums but those orders have not reached through official channels in written form.

The cumulative impact of the proposed tariff increase is estimated at about Rs32 billion provided the petitions for higher fuel price adjustment for electricity consumed in November, December and January are accepted by the regulator. The higher electricity rates, on approval by the regulator, would be recovered from consumers in the upcoming months.

Seeking retrospective adjustments for November, December and January

The CPPA claimed an additional cost of 98 paisa per unit for electricity consumed in November 2019, Rs1.49 per unit increase for December and Rs2.12 per unit for January under base tariff 2015-16.

The CPPA in its petitions said the distribution companies (Discos) had charged consumers a reference fuel tariff of Rs2.449 per unit in November while the actual fuel cost turned out to be Rs3.47 per unit. Hence, it should be allowed to charge 98 paisa per unit additional cost from consumers next month.

Similarly, it said the reference fuel charged to consumers for December was Rs5.78 per unit but actual fuel cost came in at Rs7.25 per unit. Therefore, Discos should be allowed to charge an additional cost of Rs1.49 per unit to consumers.

Moreover, in its third petition, the CPPA claimed an actual fuel cost of Rs6.48 per unit for January against a reference rate of Rs4.46 already charged to consumers. As such, it demanded an additional charge of Rs2.02 per unit to be billed to consumers.

Total energy generation from all sources in November 2019 was recorded at 7,434GWh. The total cost of energy generated amounted to Rs24.86bn, having an average per unit fuel cost of Rs3.344 per unit. About 7,204GWh were sold to Discos for Rs25.01bn. About 3.1 per cent units were reported as transmission losses.

Likewise, the total energy generation in December stood at 7,793GWh at a total cost of Rs46.65bn, having an average rate of Rs5.99 per unit. Of this, about 7,332GWh were sold to Discos for Rs53.13bn at an average rate of Rs7.25 per unit.

The total energy generation in January stood at 7,557GWh at a cost of Rs37.84bn or Rs5 per unit. Of this, about 7,309GWh were sold to Discos for Rs47.35bn at an average rate of Rs6.48 per unit.

The hydropower generation contributed 39pc to the overall production in November, 23pc in December and just 11pc in January due to annual canal closure. About 27.3pc contribution came from coal-based power plants in November, 29pc in December and 32pc in January.

The LNG-based power generation stood 9.2pc in November, 15pc in December and 12.3pc in January. The local gas-based production stood at 9.34pc in November, 15pc in December and 21pc in January.

The nuclear energy contributed 11.55pc in November, 9.2pc in December and 8.8pc in January. The share of wind power plants ranged between 1.8-2pc over the three months.

There was no fuel cost on hydroelectricity while coal-based fuel cost stood at about Rs5.8 per unit. Nuclear energy fuel cost stood at about Rs1.01 per unit while power produced through local gas ranged between Rs5.8 and Rs6.86 per unit. The cost of RLNG-based plants was worked out between Rs9.8 and Rs10.056 per unit. The electricity imported from Iran had a cost of Rs11.57 per unit and its total share in power supply was just 0.48pc.

The higher tariff adjustment will not be charged to lifeline consumers using up to 50 units per month but all other consumer of all categories including industrial sector and agriculture tube wells would have to bear the additional burden. The revised rates would also not apply to K-Electric consumers.

Published in Dawn, March 11th, 2020