The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) has allowed power distribution companies (discos) to increase power tariff by under monthly fuel adjustment mechanism amid reports that consumers have been deprived of power at Sehri and Iftari, despite tall claims by the government.
The increase in tariff given for the month of June 2011 will reflect in the electricity bills of July across the country except in the jurisdiction of Karachi Electric Supply Company. The Central Power Purchase Agency (CPPA) has filed tariff petition for a raise of Rs 1.1148 per unit in tariff from reference price of Rs 5.2246 per unit to Rs 6.3394 per unit in accordance with fuel variations.
The representatives of CPPA present at the public hearing argued that the power tariff should be increased by Rs 1.1148 per unit as the company sold three billion units of electricity out of 9.13 billion units produced from furnace oil in the month of June. The company also paid a fine of Rs 25 per unit to a power plant in the wake of shortage of fuel while the tariff of electricity imported from Iran has doubled from Rs 4.98 per unit to Rs 8.57 per unit in the light of revised Power Purchase Agreement (PPA).
According to CPPA officials, Iranian authorities had approached Pakistan for revision in tariff (almost double) which the latter has agreed to pay. However, Nepra did not allow increase in tariff on these factors. Chairman of Nepra, Khalid Saeed, directed National Power Dispatch Company (NTDC) to ensure uninterrupted fuel to the thermal power plants. Pursuant to the provisions of section 31(4) of Regulation of Generation, Transmission and Distribution of Electric Power Act, 1997,(XL of 1997), the Authority has to review and revise the approved tariff on monthly basis.
Notwithstanding the monthly adjustment on account of fuel charges, variation is made in pursuance of the provisions of the section 31(4), yet the impact of such adjustments, if any, is passed on to the consumers of electricity, therefore in order to meet the ends of natural justice, the Authority decided to provide an opportunity of hearing to all concerned while reviewing and revising the approved tariff on account of the variation in the fuel charges. It is pertinent to mention here that the government is also mulling to increase power tariff by 2 percent as part of 12 percent annual increase, already agreed between the Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Water and Power. An official in the Ministry of Water and Power told this scribe that there will be no let-up in power crisis during Ramazan as less supply is being given to the grid stations.
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