Consumers protest proposed Rs34bn power tariff burden

Consumer representatives protested on Wednesday against a proposed extra quarterly tariff charge of Rs34 billion sought by power companies. According to Dawn, the increase stems from higher capacity charges tied to loadshedding, lower sales and solar penetration. At a public hearing called by the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority, industrial consumers demanded an immediate review of the incremental tariff package, which they claimed added about Rs2 per unit for all consumers.

Maqsood Anwar Khan, a Nepra member, suspected that heavy loadshedding, which hit good customers hardest, was a major reason for around a 5 per cent drop in sales at most distribution companies. Fesco's team confirmed that outages were also occurring in low-loss areas where high-paying consumers live. Islamabad Electric Supply Company said its quarterly tariff for September to November needed to rise by about Rs1.83 per unit.

Amina Ahmed, another Nepra member, said the higher QTA for April to June was now unavoidable, which made an urgent review of the incremental package necessary. Naveed Qaiser, head of the Power Division's tariff team, said a review case had already reached Nepra but rejected the idea that the package had done any damage. Industrial representatives argued that the modest rise in factory demand reflected a shift from captive power to the grid.