Govt Seeks Rs. 3.5 Per Unit Tariff Increase in April FCA

The federal government wants to collect additional Rs. 3.5 per unit in Fuel Cost Adjustment (FCA) for electricity consumed in April 2024 and has petitioned the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) for approval. The government aims to collect Rs. 29 billion in additional FCA despite 75 percent of the power supply in April being generated from cheaper local fuels. The higher FCA is attributed to lower availability of hydropower, higher prices of domestic coal and gas, and increased utilization of LNG. The petition claims that the reference fuel cost for March was initially determined at Rs. 5.49 per unit, but the actual cost turned out to be Rs. 8.98 per unit. In April, 8,639 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of electricity were generated at an estimated fuel cost of Rs. 79.56 billion (Rs. 9.21 per unit), with 8,375 GWh delivered to DISCOs at Rs. 8.98 per unit. NEPRA has accepted the request for a public hearing on May 30 (next week) to discuss the proposed FCA.  If approved, the increased FCA will be shown in June 2024 bills.