National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) on Thursday allowed power distribution companies (Discos) to increase power tariff by Rs 1.77 per unit across the board except those consumers who use up to 50 units per month. Nepra spokesman Syed Safeer Hussain told Business Recorder that there were three main reasons for the rise in power tariff.
First, running of four Independent Power Plants (IPPs) namely Saphire, Saif, Halmore and Orient on High Speed Diesel (HSD) due to shortage of gas supply was the main contributor to this raise in tariff. Second reason as stated by the Central Power Purchasing Agency (CPPA) was Residual Fuel Oil (RFO) generation which is expensive as compared to natural gas and water. The company generated 2,324GwH in September 2011 as compared to 2,234GwH electricity in August.
Third reason was increase in furnace oil prices from Rs 44,000 per ton to Rs 64,000 per ton. Although, power rates have been increased by Rs 1.77 per unit for September under the monthly fuel adjustment formula, in real terms the impact will be Rs 1.27 per unit less than the bill of August 2011. The recent hike will have no impact on the consumers of the Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESC).