Electricity consumers in Karachi are set to benefit from a Rs6.62 per unit reduction in their electricity bills as part of the Fuel Charges Adjustment (FCA) for February 2025.
This relief continues a trend of declining electricity costs over the past few months, driven by lower energy prices used in power generation.
The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) has scheduled a public hearing on April 16 to review K-Electric’s (KE) request for a provisional negative FCA of Rs6.62 per unit.
According to sources, KE has based its petition on the interim reference tariff from March 2023, reporting a negative fuel cost variation of Rs6.662 billion for February.
Additionally, KE has sought NEPRA’s approval to adjust pending actualized fuel costs linked to partial load operations, open cycle usage, degradation curves, and startup expenses that have accumulated between July 2023 and February 2025.
The utility company claims that Rs13.9 billion in costs remain unaccounted for, out of which Rs7.4 billion was already incorporated into FCA decisions for November and December 2024.
KE has proposed that the remaining adjustments be settled using the negative FCA amounts from January and February 2025 to prevent future financial strain on consumers.
NEPRA has identified three key aspects for discussion in the upcoming hearing:
Whether the proposed negative FCA for February 2025 is justified, whether KE followed the merit order while dispatching electricity from its plants and purchasing power externally, and whether the request to adjust pending fuel costs aligns with the current regulatory framework.
NEPRA has invited stakeholders to submit their opinions, and details regarding KE’s petition, relevant regulations, and past determinations are available on its official website.