September power bills: Adjustment pains a plenty

Business Recorder reported that September 2026 electricity bills are heading for a two-year high across consumer categories, after two power regulator decisions pushed the September adjustments above Rs2.5 per unit. The average domestic tariff is likely to reach Rs28.23 per unit under the PBS CPI methodology, a 29 percent rise on a year-on-year basis. The increase is expected to be a major contributor to keeping September CPI in double digits.

The steepest move is a monthly fuel charges adjustment of Rs2.06 per unit, the largest positive figure in 24 months, compared with 10 paisa a year earlier and 75 paisa last month. Because the FCA is applied retrospectively to July consumption, households will be billed in September for fuel costs incurred in July. Fuel charges for July 2026 reached Rs139 billion, the highest in 49 months, with RLNG generation costing Rs47 per unit, the highest on record.

On the other side, the quarterly tariff adjustment is 52 paisa per unit from September to November, replacing a negative adjustment of almost Rs2 per unit. Business Recorder linked the modest QTA to recovery of power purchase price on incremental units, as industrial users moved from captive generation to the grid and contained a capacity charge overrun of close to Rs44 billion. The report adds that relief for captive usage is ruled out under IMF commitments.