Electricity Consumers to Pay 75 Paisa Per Unit Fuel Cost Adjustment in August Bills, Adding Rs9.8 Billion Burden.

The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) announced that electricity consumers in Pakistan will pay an additional 75 paisa per unit for the August billing period. This change adds a financial load of about Rs9.8 billion to consumer bills. The average fuel cost for August is roughly 41 paisa higher than in July, when the fuel cost adjustment (FCA) was 34 paisa per unit. The FCA will apply to all customers who chose prepaid tariffs, except lifeline customers, electric‑vehicle charging stations, and other prepaid electricity consumers. The adjustment covers K‑Electric and the distribution companies that originated from Wapda, as well as clients on the incremental consumption package. All of these companies must reflect the new FCA in their August 2026 bills. NEPRA reviews fuel cost adjustments each month under the country’s tariff regime. Last month, the Central Power Purchasing Agency reported that the actual average fuel charge for June was Rs8.9138 per kWh, compared with the approved reference price of Rs7.7138 per kWh. That difference prompted a demand for an additional Rs1.20 per unit FCA. After recalculations, NEPRA set the fuel component at Rs8.4641, which allowed the FCA to be lowered to Rs0.75 per unit instead of Rs1.20. The power division noted that generation in June fell 5.6 % compared with projections and flagged concerns over partial loading charges amounting to Rs4.9 billion. The Central Power Purchasing Agency said the partial loading was not due to inefficiencies but was caused by a drop in daytime demand from rooftop solar generation. Consequently, power plants operated at partial load during solar hours and ramped up later to meet evening demand. NEPRA warned that if daytime demand reduces sharply in the coming years, renewable sources such as wind and solar could have to be curtailed. Under Pakistan’s tariff mechanism, changes in fuel cost are passed on to consumers on a monthly basis through an automatic adjustment system, while quarterly tariff changes are built into the base tariff set by the federal government.