ISLAMABAD - The hike of up to Rs7.12 per unit in electricity base tariff is all set to hit the country’s approximately 24 million residential consumers, using up to monthly 200 units, from October 1,2024.
The application of base tariff hike of up to 51 per cent will come into force, as the relief package announced by the federal government, on the eve of base tariff hike effective from July 1, 2024, for residential consumers using up to 200 units for three months will expire on September 30.
Notably, following public outrage over the hike in electricity base tariff, the federal government had decided not to enhance the power rates for 23.8 million residential consumers using up to monthly 200 units for three months (July to September).
It was decided not to pass on the burden of hike in base tariff to the protected and non-protected categories of domestic consumers using 1 to 200 units.
For providing relief to the consumers using up to 200 units, the federal government had paid Rs50 billion subsidy for three months period.
Out of the total 32.537 million electricity consumers 28.8 million are residential consumers. The number of protected and unprotected consumers (not the lifeline) using 1 to 200 units is approximately 23.8 million which is around 83 percent of the total domestic consumers.
As per the base tariff approved by the federal government for FY 2024-25, for the protected consumers using 1 to 100 units, a hike of 51 per cent or 3.95/unit in base tariff will be applicable from October 1, which will take the price from the existing Rs7.74/unit to 11.69/unit, for the protected consumers using 101-200 units a hike of 41 per cent or Rs4.10/unit will be applicable from the next month, which will enhance the tariff from Rs10.06/unit to Rs14.16/unit.
For the non-protected consumers using 1 to 100 units the tariff hike of Rs7.11/unit (43 per cent) will be applicable, which will take the current per unit cost from Rs16.48/unit to Rs23.59/unit. For the consumers using 101-200 the hike of Rs 7.12/unit (30 per cent) is on card which will take the tariff for these categories of consumers from the existing Rs 22.95/unit to Rs 30.07/unit.
The increase in base tariff will be applicable from October 1 for residential consumers using up to 200 units.
It is worth to note that there was no change in base tariff for life consumers using up to 50 units and 51-100 units and it will remain respectively at Rs3.95/unit and Rs7.74/unit.