Islamabad:
K-Electric consumers (KE) could expect relief from RS4.84 per unit in their electricity bills, such as the National Regulatory Authority of Electric Power (NEPRA) on Thursday a declaration of reduction of fees on account of the fuel adjustment for the month of January 2025.
The KE had presented a petition before the energy regulator, looking for a reduction in the energy rate to RS4.84 per unit on account of the fuel adjustment. If allowed, the general benefit to consumers could reach approximately RS4,695 billion.
At the monthly fuel load adjustment (FCA), the interested parties advocated full benefit to consumers. However, the KE maintained its partial adjustment position, citing accumulated costs related to partial load charges, open cycle operations, degradation curves and starting costs.
The KE said these costs may require adjustments during the maximum summer months. He stressed that this approach aimed to prevent excessive financial burden for consumers, when electricity consumption and invoices were generally higher.
When addressing the consultations on the dependency of the National Network, the KE generation and transmission officer, Abbas Hussain, stressed that the generation peaks reached 2,400mw during the month, which underlines the need to retain the KE generation capacity to meet demand beyond the NTDC supply.
Ke produced only 4% of its own resources. Responding to a regulator question regarding this production, the KE authorities said the plants were executed to maintain a minimal load in the system. On the integration with the national network, KE confirmed that the four interconnections operated optimally.
However, pending issues in the Ke Kanupp exchange grid (KKI) (KKI Interconnection) remained due to continuous legal and administrative processes at the end of the NTDC. Nepra urged the NTDC to provide clarity in its timeline to complete the pending transmission line.
The executive director of KE, Moonis Alvi, reiterated that additional interconnections would only be viable with a firm commitment of the highest supply of the NTDC. He said the NTDC would provide 1,200MW to the KE firmly, while additional 1,000MW will be provided, subject to availability.
Alvi also stressed that the NTDC commitment to the additional power supply was crucial before more interconnections could be developed. It was reported that the government had provided a subsidy of more than RS800 billion to KE consumers.
In clarifying the subsidies, Nepra reaffirmed that KE did not receive operational subsidies, on the other hand, the federal government provided subsidies to KE consumers to maintain tariff uniformity under national uniform tariff policy.
A nepring official explained that the TDS was based on the difference between the determined and applicable rate, ensuring affordability for consumers.
The KE also approached the concerns regarding the lower consumption and demand, attributing it to the decrease due to the cold climate and the increase in solar adoption in the roof. The company suggested that the planned change of electrical centrals captive to the network could help revive industrial demand.
Separate, Neprol has sought details of all XWDiscos with respect to the interests earned in the accumulated amounts in the accounts payable to net measurement prosumators. On the occasion, the representative of the Rehan Javed industry emphasized the need for predefined cost limits to guarantee efficiency.
He stressed that costs should only be transmitted to consumers after verification. Nepra recognized these concerns, stating that authority must achieve a balance between consumer protection and industry’s sustainability.
Tanveer Barry, Vice President Kcci appreciated the KE efforts in Ramzan and ended with the load load on request. Later, the authority reserved its decision that would be issued after reviewing the data and shipments presented by the KE during the hearing.
