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Electricity bills in Pakistan are expected to rise during the summer months, as lower hydropower production forces greater reliance on expensive fuels. Officials from the National Power Control Centre (NPCC) and Central Power Purchasing Agency Guaranteed (CPPA-G) highlighted this during National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) hearings on March’s Fuel Cost Adjustment (FCA) and the third quarter’s Quarterly Tariff Adjustment (QTA).
Despite projections of a slight negative adjustment of Rs1.52 per unit under QTA for May, June, and July 2025, electricity bills in Pakistan could still climb. This reduction stems from a total Rs51.493 billion decrease sought by distribution companies (Discos), primarily from lower capacity charges — Rs16 billion from contract terminations and Rs17 billion through renegotiated Independent Power Producer (IPP) agreements. These savings also extend to K-Electric customers.
For March’s FCA, Discos requested a minor 3-paisa-per-unit negative adjustment, impacting consumers by Rs250 million. However, with 90 paisa per unit already adjusted for April to June, net consumer relief will only be around 50 paisa per unit, excluding lifeline users. CPPA-G’s CEO Rihan Akhtar noted that excluding the Rs3.291 billion Prior Year Adjustment (PYA) would have made the relief more significant.
Higher Fuel Costs to Offset Minor Relief
The NPCC assured fuel availability but confirmed higher FCA costs due to the increased use of pricey fuels. CPPA-G shared that while electricity demand in March 2025 was 6% lower compared to March 2024, it was up 6% compared to February 2025. Meanwhile, the NPCC reported transmitting 8.7% less energy in March year-on-year, with forced outages causing expensive plant operations.
Participants like Arif Bilwani and Amir Sheikh voiced concerns about fuel allocation transparency and the lack of industrial sector benefits. Sheikh criticized the missed opportunity to lower industrial electricity costs despite freeing up indigenous gas supplies. Bilwani remarked sarcastically on the officials’ overreliance on divine help rather than planning.
Nepra Chairman Waseem Mukhtar reprimanded the absence of senior officials from the Power Division and key Discos, warning of disciplinary actions. He stated that had the QTA not been in favor of consumers, he would have rejected the petitions outright.
Industry leaders, including Tanveer Barry of KCCI, highlighted the growing circular debt — now at Rs2.4 trillion (2.3% of GDP) — and pointed out inefficiencies, with transmission and distribution losses at 20.1% for Discos and 16% for K-Electric. Barry warned that relying on commercial borrowing to address circular debt would further burden consumers, emphasizing that electricity in Pakistan remains costlier than in regional markets.
