ISLAMABAD-The consumers of Ex-WAPDA distribution companies (XWDiscos) are likely to pay an additional Rs 29 billion in August bills as National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) has hinted to allow a hike of Rs1.81/unit to XWDiscos on account of monthly fuel charges adjustment (FCA).
In a public hearing, conducted by NEPRA, on Central Power Purchasing Agency (CPPA-G) petition for tariff hike on the account of monthly fuel charges adjustment (FCA) for June 2023, it was informed that the consumers were burdened with an additional Rs 950.70 million due to violation of merit order in June. The hearing was chaired by Chairman Nepra Tauseef H Farooqi, while it was attended by all the authority’s members.
Similarly, it was informed by NEPRA official that that less electricity was generated from efficient Sahiwal Coal Power Plant. More electricity was generated from imported LNG and expensive furnace oil, the officials said and added that10.3% more electricity was generated from imported LNG in June. The increase will have impact of nearly Rs29 billion (including GST) for the Discos. The increase shall be applicable to all the consumer categories except Electric Vehicle Charging Stations (EVCS) and lifeline consumers. A petition submitted by the Central Power Purchasing Agency (CPPA) on behalf of XWDiscos said that for the month of June, the reference fuel charges from the consumers were Rs7.5084/unit, while the actual fuel cost was Rs9.3930/unit. XWDiscos had requested NEPRA to allow it to pass the increase of Rs1.8846/unit to consumers. However, after the preliminary analysis of data, the regulator calculated that the hike will be Rs 1.81/unit.
In the data shared with the regulator, the CPPA-G informed that 13,715 GWh of electricity was generated during the month at the cost of Rs132,080 billion (or Rs9.6300/unit) and 13,327 GWh at Rs 125,185 billion (or Rs 9.3930/unit) had been delivered to Discos with 2.57 percent as transmission losses. Hydel generation stood at 4133 GWh (30.14pc) in June which is high than 3,312.2 GWh (26.96pc) during May, indicating an increase of 28.78 percent.
The data showed that 10 GWh of expensive electricity was generated from high speed diesel during June with the generation cost of Rs 30.4535/unit. The data further highlighted that 744 GWh (5.43pc) of expensive electricity was generated from furnace oil during June. The furnace oil based electricity generation increased by 209 percent as compared to 241 GWh (1.96pc) during May. The cost of the RFO-based electricity in June also increased to Rs 26.0943/unit from Rs23.2416/unit in May. The generation from coal-based power plants increased by 18 percent to 2434 GWh during June from 2,061.3 GWh in May. Coal was a comparatively cheaper source for power generation viz-a-viz RFO and RLNG, and it cost Rs14.0744/unit during June.
The natural gas-based generation declined by 7.86 percent from 1,270.9 in May to 1171 GWH (8.54pc) in June. The cost of the gas based electricity in June was Rs11.7444/unit which is cheaper from May cost of Rs12.455/unit. The RLNG-based electricity contribution to the national grid decreased by almost 15 percent to 2544 GWh in June from 2,988 GWh during the previous month. The cost of RLNG based electricity was Rs 24.0740/unit. Generation from nuclear based power plants increased by 20.38 percent to 1857 GWh (13.54pc) in June from 1,542.56 GWh in May. The per unit cost of nuclear power was also declined from Rs1.148/unit in May to Rs1.0721/unit during June. The import of electricity from Iran was 25 GWh was at the cost of Rs23.6329/unit. From bagasse, 66 GWh of electricity was generated at Rs5.9822/unit, while wind, solar and mixed sources contributed 597 GWh, 105 GWh, and 27 GWh, respectively, to the national grid.