PESCO and TESCO Want to Raise Electricity Bills Again

The Tribal Areas Electricity Supply Company (TESCO) and the Peshawar Electric Supply Company (PESCO) have filed petitions seeking a multi-year tariff increase for the five-year period from 2025 to 2030. PESCO has proposed a tariff of Rs. 41.21 per unit for FY 2025-26, gradually declining to Rs. 38.75 per unit by FY 2029-30. The company has sought revenue requirements exceeding Rs. 384 billion for FY 2025-26, with incremental adjustments in subsequent years. TESCO has also requested an average increase of Rs. 4.35 per unit over the same period. It argues that higher tariffs are needed to sustain operational investments, enhance network efficiency, and manage rising demand in its service areas. The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) will hold a public hearing on November 3, 2025, to review both petitions and assess their justification under the Multi-Year Tariff (MYT) mechanism. TESCO has conducted a third-party independent loss study to measure its system performance. The findings show total system losses at 12.02 percent, though the company projects reducing these losses to 9.6 percent through network improvements and better grid management. TESCO expects steady growth in power demand, projecting unit sales of 1,352 million units in FY 2025-26, rising to 1,433 million units by FY 2029-30. The company plans to maintain Transmission and Distribution (T&D) losses at 8.6 percent, supported by investments in grid expansion and operational efficiency. In its filing, TESCO has proposed power purchase projections (PPP) starting at Rs. 60.93 billion for FY 2025-26, increasing to Rs. 78.22 billion by FY 2029-30. It also seeks approval for a distribution margin beginning at Rs. 5.04 billion and reaching Rs. 7.26 billion by the end of the control period. According to its tariff petition, TESCO has requested incremental unit price hikes of Rs. 3.73 per unit for FY 2025-26, Rs. 3.96 per unit for FY 2026-27, Rs. 4.32 per unit for FY 2027-28, Rs. 4.69 per unit for FY 2028-29, and Rs. 5.06 per unit for FY 2029-30. The company estimates other income to rise gradually from Rs. 736 million in FY 2025-26 to Rs. 960 million in FY 2029-30. TESCO has also proposed a weighted average cost of capital (WACC) of 13.5 percent in FY 2025-26, declining to 11.4 percent by FY 2029-30. If approved, the five-year tariff framework will provide both utilities with financial predictability, but could add pressure on consumers already facing elevated power costs.