The price of electricity to rise by Rs 3.15 per unit in April’s bills

The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) is likely to allow an increase in electricity price of up to Rs 3.15 per unit on account of fuel adjustment in April’s bills.

The Central Power Purchasing Agency Guarantee Limited (CPPA-G) has requested a tariff increase of Rs3.1573/unit in electricity for the monthly fuel charges adjustment (FCA) for March 2022.

The increase in electricity price will reflect in the bills for April 2022.

Following a massive increase of Rs 4.85/unit in February due to monthly FCA, the CPPA has filed a new petition for a massive increase in March.

Nepra increases power tariff by Rs 4.8 per unit

In a petition submitted to NEPRA on behalf of power distribution companies (XWDISOCs), the CPPA-G said that the reference fuel charges from the consumers were Rs 6.2295/for March units, while the actual fuel cost was Rs 9.3869/unit.

Therefore, it requested to allow the increase of Rs 3.1574/unit for the consumers. According to the CPPA-G petition, transmission losses were high in March, at 2.94 percent.

According to the CPPA-G, total energy generated in March increased to 10418 GWh, up from 8087 GWh in February. The total cost of generation was Rs 96.032 billion.

Electricity Per Unit Cost in April 2022

The generation cost per unit of energy was Rs 9.2176/unit. Net electricity delivered to Discos was 10,078.73 GWh at Rs 94.608 billion, or Rs 9.3869 per unit, according to CCPA-G data. The regulator will pass on an increase in electricity in bills in April 2022.

In March, the hydel power generation contributed 1703.91 GWh or 16.35 to the national grid. Coal accounted for 2586.62GWh, or 24.83 percent, of total electricity generation. The cost of coal generation was Rs 12.4116/unit in March.

Furnace oil-generated electricity increased by 10.65% to 1106.19 GWh in March, up from 526.73 GWh, or 6.51 percent, in February. The cost of RFO-based electricity was Rs 22.5214/unit.

In March, electricity generation from gas-fired power plants increased to 992.72GWh, up from 918.40GWh. The cost of gas-based electricity was Rs 7.7872/unit. An RLNG-based generation had further increased to 1965.68GWh in March from 1226.01 GWh in February. The cost of the RNLNG-based electricity is Rs 14.3677/unit.

Nuclear power plants generated 1563.66GWh in March, up 15.01 percent from the previous month, at Rs 1.0335 per unit. Electricity imported from Iran was 42.75GWh in March. The cost of Iranian electricity was Rs 17.3565/unit.

In March, the power generation from bagasse contributed 107.01GWh at Rs 5.9822/unit. Power generation from various sources (mixed) was 13.22GWh for Rs 4.8339/unit, with wind accounting for 267.92 GWh or 2.57 percent, and solar accounting for 68.73GWh. Nepra will hold a public hearing on the CPPA-G petition on April 27, 2022.