ISLAMABAD – More trouble for inflation-weary people as new surcharge of Rs1.743 per unit will add to woes of million for next three months starting in September 2024.
The new jolt will allow distribution companies including K-Electric to recover Rs43.23 billion through quarterly adjustments for the fourth quarter of the fiscal year 2023-24. The new addition will disturb households already dealing with skyrocketing energy costs.
A big chunk of this recovery will be for capacity charges payments made to independent power producers to maintain electricity generation capacity. It was learnt that additional Rs7.3 billion will cover system usage charges and market operator fees, Rs11.23 billion will address transmission and distribution losses, and Rs3.5 billion will go towards variable operation and maintenance expenses.
The introduction of 18pc General Sales Tax on total recovery amount will burden by Rs7.78 billion, increasing the total to Rs51 billion to be collected from consumers.
Last month, NEPRA Chairman distribution companies argued that adjustments were needed due to lower sales compared to projections for the quarter. The national power regulator mentioned that some Pesco, and some companies had not met their energy demand and resorted to load-shedding.
Central Power Purchasing Agency also sought Rs51 million for legal expenses in this adjustment, but NEPRA turned down this claim, noting that such costs are included in the Market Operation Fee (MOF), which already has a Rs500 million allocation for legal charges in FY 2023-24.
CPPA also included claim of Rs72.23 million from Kot Addu Power Company for tax differentials, but this was not approved by NEPRA. Also, Rs73.18 million was adjusted for the PPIB fee for January 2024.
NEPRA approved positive adjustment of Rs43.23 billion for fourth quarter of FY2023-24, covering capacity charges, variable operation and maintenance costs, additional recovery on incremental sales, system usage charges, market operator fees, and FCA impacts.
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