ISLAMABAD: The federal government has sought the Nationwide Electrical Energy Regulatory Authority’s (Nepra) approval for a further gasoline price adjustment (FCA) of Rs3.5 per unit to extract over Rs29 billion from shoppers for electrical energy they consumed in April.
Surprisingly, this demand comes even if 75 per cent of the general energy provide throughout the month was generated from cheaper native fuels.
The Central Energy Buying Company (CPPA) — a subsidiary of the Energy Division — has filed a proper petition earlier than the regulator for a rise of Rs3.4883 per kWh over the reference tariff of Rs5.492 per unit already charged to shoppers in April.
The proposed further FCA is nearly 64pc larger than the pre-fixed gasoline price of Rs5.49 per unit, which calls into query the ability sector paperwork’s capabilities to forecast gasoline prices even for 6-7 months.
In latest months, the extra FCAs have ranged between 50 and 115pc larger than the pre-determined gasoline prices notified in the beginning of the present fiscal yr.
This enhance in FCA is on prime of a couple of 26pc rise within the annual base tariff and one other 10pc hike underneath the quarterly tariff adjustment at present in place and being charged to shoppers at Rs2.75 per unit. In consequence, shoppers proceed to pay extreme payments as consumption will increase with rising temperatures. This was despite greater than 75pc of electrical energy coming from native assets. Nepra has accepted the request for a public listening to on Could 30.
The upper proposed FCA is seemingly as a result of decrease availability of hydropower, higher home coal and fuel costs, and better utilisation of LNG costs.
In a petition, the CPPA appearing as industrial agent of the Discos demanded a further FCA of Rs3.488 per unit within the billing month of June for electrical energy consumed in April. It claimed that the reference gasoline price for March was Rs5.49 per unit, however the precise gasoline price turned out to be Rs8.98 per unit. It mentioned about 8,639-gigawatt hours (GWh) of electrical energy was generated at an estimated gasoline expenditure of Rs79.56bn (Rs9.21 per unit) in April, of which 8,375 GWh power was delivered to Discos at Rs75.2bn (at Rs8.98 per unit) — decrease than technology price apparently due to some earlier changes.
The info confirmed consumption in April was virtually 14pc decrease than the identical month (9,734Gwh) final yr, primarily due to decrease temperatures and altered consumption patterns attributable to financial slowdown and shoppers shifting to alternate options.
The Rs3.5 FCA for April can be 75pc larger than Rs2 per unit in the identical month final yr.
Thus, LNG-based energy technology offered the largest share of about 25pc to the national grid in April, changing the standard hydropower provide. The hydropower provide got here in at second with 24pc share in April when in comparison with 28pc in March. Hydropower has no gasoline price.
The third-biggest share within the nationwide grid got here from nuclear energy, at about 24pc in April, down from 26pc in March. This was adopted by an 11.2pc contribution from native fuel, towards 10pc in March. Then got here native coal-based energy, which contributed 10pc to the grid in April towards its 11pc share in March.
The price of LNG-based energy technology in April elevated to Rs22.8 per unit, up from Rs22.2 per unit in March. The gasoline price of home gas-based technology barely dropped to Rs13.25 per unit, down from Rs13.7 per unit in March.
Alternatively, the price of native coal-based technology dropped to Rs15.8 per unit in April, down from Rs16.8 per unit in March. The imported coal-based technology stood at Rs22.85 per unit, however its contribution was lower than 0.3pc.
Three renewable power sources — wind, bagasse and photo voltaic — contributed 5.3pc share to the grid in April in comparison with 4.9pc in March. Wind and photo voltaic haven’t any gasoline price, whereas the value of bagasse-based technology remained unchanged at about Rs6 per unit.
After approval by Nepra, the rise in FCAs can be mirrored in shoppers’ payments in June.
Revealed in Daybreak, Could twenty first, 2024