Karachi consumers could soon see a reduction in their electricity bills. During a recent hearing at the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA), K-Electric requested a decrease of PKR 4.98 per unit in fuel charges for November.
NEPRA member Maqsood Anwar noted that K-Electric heavily relies on the National Transmission and Dispatch Company (NTDC) for its power supply and suggested, “Why not grant K-Electric a generation license?” This would allow the utility to generate its own electricity, reducing its dependence on NTDC.
K-Electric representatives explained that their power plants incur capacity payments of PKR 6 to 7 per unit, and that the demand for electricity has been growing by 13% annually, with a particularly sharp rise in the domestic sector.
NEPRA member Rafiq Sheikh raised questions about future growth, asking, “How do you see growth over the next 5-6 years? With solar power and other energy sources coming online, how will this impact demand?” K-Electric officials responded that the shift of captive plants to the grid would help meet this growth.
K-Electric officials also provided data on their energy sourcing for November. They reported that 62% of the electricity came from NTDC, which was relatively inexpensive, while 21% was generated from LNG and 13% from furnace oil. The company’s average demand in November was 2,300 MW, a 12% drop from 2,600 MW in October. However, compared to November 2023, demand increased from 2,000 MW to 2,300 MW.
Following the hearing, NEPRA confirmed that K-Electric had requested a reduction of PKR 4.98 per unit under the Fuel Charges Adjustment (FCA). This follows a similar reduction of 49 paisa per unit in October.
If approved, the new fuel charge adjustment would apply to most consumers, except lifeline users, those consuming up to 300 units of electricity per month, prepaid customers, agricultural users, and electric vehicle charging stations.
