ISLAMABAD - Power consumers already bearing heavy brunt of sky-rocketing power price for a long time should now get ready to bear another blow as above Rs2/unit hike in power tariff is on the cards to add further miseries.
Well-informed sources aware of the development told The Nation that Central Power Purchasing Agency (CPPA) has submitted a tariff petition with Nepra and asked the authority to allow to bridge yawning gap between reference fuel cost and generation fuel cost recorded during the month of January. And, the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority is set to jack up power price by Rs2.19/unit on account of monthly fuel price adjustment of the month of January 2014. Nepra, power sector regulatory authority, has set 13th March a date of hearing over the CPPA’s plea regarding hike in power tariff. The increase in per unit of power has been sought under a monthly fuel price adjustment formula under which actual variations in cost of power supply are transferred to consumers. And, the regulator is likely to approve hike in the power tariff.
“The requested power tariff increase because of high generation cost in January will not apply to domestic consumers use less than 50 units in one month,” a senior official at power ministry said. In a petition, the CPPA has submitted with the regulatory authority (Nepra), to jack up the power price by Rs 2.19 per unit because the hydropower generation remained low while thermal power production was at top during the above said one-month time period, which had also caused per unit hike in power tariff. However, lifeline consumers who use 50 units a month would not be affected with this expected power tariff hike. The CPPA has also said that Nepra had earlier fixed the reference fuel cost at Rs 9.58 per unit while generation fuel cost was recorded at Rs 11.77 per unit during January. Similarly, six billion and 12 crore units of power were sold at fuel cost of Rs 71 billion in said span of time. Reduced hydropower generation was only due to annual canal closure in the country and power was generated while utilising the fuel of High-Speed Diesel (HSD) at a cost of Rs 23 per unit. Sources in Nepra also confirmed that regulator would hold hearing on March 13 over CPPA’s petition on power tariff hike under the head monthly fuel price adjustment of January.