Power firms seek to recover Rs34b from consumers

The Express Tribune reported that power distribution companies, known as DISCOs, have asked to recover Rs33.778 billion in total for the second quarter of calendar year 2026, mainly for capacity charges. The payments cover idle power plants that have stayed closed, and regular bill payers would be asked to absorb the amount despite a revised arrangement with independent power producers.

At a public hearing held by Nepra, the companies told the regulator that their domestic sales had fallen sharply because of solarisation, and representatives acknowledged enforcing night-time load-shedding. Qesco said it had exited the cycle of capacity payments once farm tube wells across Balochistan switched to solar power, while Mepco said almost half of its tube wells were connected to its network, with a large share now running on solar. Member Nepra, however, rejected the claim that solarisation was pulling down electricity sales.

The request includes Rs46.380 billion in capacity charges, with offsets of Rs13.517 billion linked to use-of-system charges and Rs21.175 billion tied to the incremental consumption package. Sukkur Electric Power Company asked for the biggest net adjustment, at Rs13.724 billion, while Tribal Areas Electric Supply Company posted a negative figure of Rs4.394 billion. Industry representatives rejected any tariff increase and warned that a hike during the regional war would add to their burden.