NEPRA asked to hike power tariff by Rs1.93 per unit

ISLAMABAD: The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) has been asked on Thursday to increase the electricity tariff by Rs1.93 per unit.

The Central Power Purchasing Agency (CPPA) has requested NEPRA to increase the price of electricity by Rs1.93 per unit, on the basis of a quarterly fuel price adjustment.

If the request is approved, an additional burden of Rs26.5 billion would be transferred to the end consumers.

Pakistan agreed with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to hike the electricity tariff on a quarterly adjustments basis beginning from this month, according to an IMF report issued in July.

“Eliminating power sector losses on a sustainable basis will require both new pricing policies and improvements in governance and infrastructure,” the IMF said in its report.

“There are three main sources of arrears in the power sector: effective tariffs below the required levels and only approved with significant delays; implicit subsidies provided by the government that have long remained unbudgeted; and technical and distribution losses. The authorities aim to address the first two sources in the near term while preparing a plan to tackle the third source of arrears over the course of the program,” the report stated.