pakistan 
On Friday, the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) notified a fuel cost adjustment (FCA) of Rs4.85 per unit to mop up Rs37.7 billion.
The additional FCA is to be charged to consumers of former Wapda distribution companies in the April bill.
“The authority has stamped a positive FCA of Rs4.8530/kWh — an impact of roughly around Rs37.7bn,” Nepra announced. It is pertinent to state that the regulator had concluded an additional FCA on March 31 — Rs4.68 per unit — on account of the merit order’s violation by power plants. It has now accepted justifications being fuel constraints.
The “increase of Rs4.853/kWh will apply to all the consumer categories. However, lifeline consumers of all the ex-Wapda distribution companies (discos) will not be impacted by the said increase”, said the notification issued.
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NEPRA ordered the discos that the said adjustment should be shown in the consumers’ bills based on units spent in February and reflected in the April bill.
Discos had sought an Rs4.95 per unit (almost 117pc) increase in their fuel price adjustment against the fuel cost — Rs4.25 per unit (kWh) — for the electricity that they sold in February to amass about Rs38.4bn additional funds.
The request was made through the Central Power Purchasing Agency (CPPA).
The regulator, on the other hand, allowed a spike of Rs4.84 per unit after minor adjustments. On behalf of Discos, the CPPA said the consumers were charged a fuel cost of Rs4.25 per unit in February, but the real cost turned out to be Rs9.21 per unit, signifying an additional burden of about Rs4.95 per unit on consumers.
Nepra Vice-Chairman dissented from the regulator’s price calculations, maintaining that the cost of mismanagement of non-availability of required RLNG and fuel could not be passed on to the consumers.
