Concerning News for Pakistanis as Electricity Base Tariff Expected to Rise Over Re 1 Next Year, With Hikes Potentially Reaching Rs 4 Per Unit Amid Regional Tensions and Fuel Scarcity
ISLAMABAD: The country’s electricity base tariff is likely to rise by over Rs one per unit, as the rise in regional tensions and geopolitical conflicts between Pakistan and its neighbours will take the base tariff to as high as Rs 4 per unit, according to the projections.
NEPRA has completed the hearings on the petition filed by Central Power Purchasing Agency (CPPA) and the financial and operational data will be analyzed before the final decision and determination will be made.
NEPRA has released key highlights of the hearings and the projections for power prices for the CPPA.NEPRA has published the key highlights of the hearings and the CPPA power price projections.
During NEPRA proceedings, CPPA put forward six different scenarios for power purchase price determinations. The baseline electricity tariff is expected to be in the range of about Rs 27.09 per unit, said CPPA officials, adding that electricity price hikes at present due to fuel cost increases are a direct impact of the international conflicts.
Acute fuel shortage and hyper inflationated acquisition rates left the power authorities no choice but to implement load shedding in the last six months, said CPPA. In addition, volatile import prices for coal and crude-linked Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) present significant budgetary issues, and forecast is particularly difficult in today’s uncertain world.
To the agency, the NEPRA Chairman asked what would be the impact on the demand in the wake of retiring captive power units. CPPA had answered that the most serious issue in the power sector was the sharp rise in power demand on one hand and the volatility in the international fuel prices on the other, hoping that the international fuel prices will “normalize” in the near future which will help stabilize the domestic tariffs.