Provisional KE FCA for Nov ’24: Nepra receives motion for leave to review decision

ISLAMABAD: The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) has received a motion for leave to review the decision regarding the provisional Monthly Fuel Charges Adjustments (FCA) for K-Electric Ltd. for November 2024.

On February 12, Nepra announced a negative FCA of Rs 1.23 per unit for KE’s consumers for the month of November 2024. This decision was met with opposition not only from the Member (Tariff) Mathar Niaz Rana, but also from Karachi’s business community, which subsequently rejected the decision.

In the Motion for Review, Arif Bilwani, an active intervener from Karachi representing the business community, expressed profound disappointment and concern about the way the decision was made. He argued that it contravenes the provisions of the NEPRA Act, Rules, Regulations, and Decisions, and disregards the rights of consumers.

Nov FCA: KE set to refund Rs7bn to consumers

Bilwani believes the Authority’s decision, particularly in its treatment of KE’s claims, flagrantly violates several provisions of the NEPRA Act (i) Section 7(3)(a) which pertains to the Authority’s duty to determine tariff, rates, charges & other terms & conditions for supply of electric power services ;(ii) Section 31(2)(a) Relating to the Authority’s obligation to Protect consumers against monopolistic & oligopolistic prices; (iii) Section 31(2)(f) concerning the Authority’s duty to Determine tariffs so as to eliminate exploitation & minimise economic distortion; and (iv) Section 31(3)(c) pertaining to the Authority’s duty for Protection for refund, if any, to customers while tariff decisions are pending.

According to him, the decision not only ignores these statutory provisions but also undermines the Authority’s own earlier determination on KE’s Generation Tariff, thereby prejudicing consumer rights. The Motion for Review states that during the hearing, the Authority framed only two issues for consideration: (i) whether the requested Fuel Price variation is justified; and (ii) whether KE followed the merit order while dispatching its power plants and purchasing power from external sources.

According to the Review Petition, KE itself calculated a negative FCA of Rs. 7,179 million (Rs. 4.98 per kWh) for November 2024, which should have been refunded to consumers. However, the Authority’s decision deviated from this calculation without adequate justification.

In its request, KE highlighted pending claims of Rs 8.7 billion related to fuel cost actualization for the period post-June 2023, including Partial Load, Open Cycle, Degradation Curves, and Startup Costs.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2025