National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) on Wednesday increased power tariff of Distribution Companies (Discos) by Rs 1.12 per unit for May 2013 under monthly fuel adjustment mechanism. The tariff would fuel inflation further as it comes in the wake of a rise in General Sales Tax (GST) by one per cent in the federal budget.
The Supreme Court has turned down the decision of the government to implement GST prior to the passage of the budget from parliament however prices have already been raised and are unlikely to come down till the end of June. The Central Power Purchasing Agency (CPPA) had requested Nepra to increase the per unit price of electricity under the fuel adjustment plan.
As per CPPA recommendations, cost of diesel-based power generation stood at Rs 20.80 per unit last month, cost of production of furnace oil-based power stood at Rs 16.16 per unit, gas-based power generation at Rs 5.21 per unit and cost of hydro-power generation remained at 8 paisa per unit.
Power theft and line losses were recorded at 90 million units. During May, 7.30 billion units of electricity were produced at a cost of Rs 56 billion. The CPPA proposed that the approval for raising power tariff at the rate of Rs 1.12 per unit be accorded. After hearing CPPA's recommendations, Nepra approved increase of Rs 1.12 in electricity tariff. It would be applicable on all the power distribution companies except Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESC).