Nepra Approves Hike in October Electricity Bills

The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) has approved a slight increase of Rs. 0.0796 per unit in electricity bills for October, affecting consumers of all distribution companies, including K-Electric. The adjustment comes under the monthly fuel charges adjustment (FCA) for August 2025. While power utilities had requested a higher increase of Rs. 0.19 per unit, Nepra opted for a lower adjustment to recover differences in generation costs. The revision will apply to all consumer categories except lifeline users, electric vehicle charging stations, and prepaid customers. In an additional note, Nepra’s technical member highlighted ongoing inefficiencies in the power sector during August. The open-cycle operation of the Guddu 747MW plant alone added Rs. 956 million to costs, while Part Load Adjustment Charges (PLAC) surged to Rs. 3.9 billion. System constraints and underutilization of the HVDC system further strained the sector’s finances. A strongly worded dissenting note from the technical member criticized the majority decision to pass on billions in costs, stemming from inefficiencies by the National Transmission and Despatch Company (NTDC), to already burdened electricity consumers.