Electricity users face Rs25bn extra fuel cost

Dawn reported that the government wants to recover an extra Rs25 billion in fuel costs through October electricity bills. The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) has decided to review an incremental tariff package for industry that was introduced in December 2025. Nepra member Amina Ahmed said a public hearing on that review has been called for October 5.

At the hearing, Central Power Purchasing Agency chief Rehan Akhtar attributed the Rs1.73 per unit rise in August fuel costs mainly to costlier RLNG and coal imports. Hydropower generation came in at 38pc against a 41pc target, while nuclear output fell to 10pc after an outage at Karachi nuclear. Consequently, imported coal-based generation rose to 15.6pc instead of the planned 7.4pc.

Industrial representatives, mostly from Karachi, argued that the package benefited few industries while burdening all consumers, and asked that the IMF be approached over the petroleum levy on furnace oil. They also said stakeholders had not been consulted despite a Nepra direction to review the package within six months. The Rs22.96 per unit special rate for select industries has remained unchanged for nine months, and once approved, power companies including K-Electric would recover the extra Rs25 billion from all consumers.