During a NEPRA hearing regarding K-Electric’s request for a 16-paisa reduction in the monthly fuel adjustment for September, Jamaat-e-Islami’s Imran Shahid represented Karachi residents, condemning the regulator’s actions. He stated that K-Electric has been supplying Karachi residents with the most expensive electricity for the past 19 years, while electricity purchased from NTDC costs Rs 8.57 per unit, compared to K-Electric’s generation cost of Rs 23 per unit. Imran Shahid labeled the NEPRA hearing a “fixed match,” asserting that K-Electric has been granted a seven-year dollar-based tariff. He added that NEPRA has imposed a significant financial burden on Karachi’s consumers, as K-Electric will now also charge customers for operations and maintenance based on the dollar rate. He demanded the cancellation of K-Electric’s generation license and called for the provision of cheaper electricity from NTDC to Karachi. Imran Shahid criticized NEPRA for allowing K-Electric to continue operating its outdated power plants, thus transferring the fuel adjustment burden onto Karachi consumers. “K-Electric will collect capacity charges from Karachi residents regardless of whether it generates electricity or not,” he stated. He highlighted that while old IPPs are being closed across the country, K-Electric has been allowed a seven-year dollar-based capacity charge and a 14 percent profit margin, which he described as a significant injustice to the residents of Karachi.
