ISLAMABAD: In a major relief to electricity consumers, the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) has directed all power distribution companies, including K-Electric, to refund Rs1.888 per unit in electricity bills over the next three months— August to October 2025—on account of overcharges under the fourth quarterly tariff adjustment for FY2024-25.
In a separate decision, Nepra also instructed ex-Wapda distribution companies (Discos), excluding K-Electric, to refund an additional Rs0.777 per unit in August bills as monthly fuel charges adjustment (FCA) for June 2025.
Meanwhile, a Nepra member (technical) in his additional note criticized chronic misgovernance, citing Rs192 billion losses from outages at Guddu-16 and Neelum-Jhelum, Rs14 billion in transmission inefficiencies, and Rs41.2 billion in part load charges—warning that without accountability, reforms will fail to stabilize the power sector.
As per the Nepra decision, the Rs55.87 billion quarterly refund—slightly above the Rs53.39 billion originally proposed by the Discos—follows lower capacity charges billed by the Central Power Purchasing Agency (CPPA-G), which NEPRA attributed to key factors: termination of Independent Power Producer (IPP) contracts, unavailability of Neelum-Jhelum project, debt restructuring of nuclear plants (K-2 and K-3), and prior renegotiations with IPPs.
Power sales by Discos surged 46 percent during the April-June quarter compared to last year, largely driven by the migration of 281 captive power consumers—representing 700-750 MW of load—to the national grid. This shift, along with reduced tariffs during the quarter, fueled increased demand.
However, Nepra raised red flags over possible overbilling, directing all Discos to submit a detailed comparison of industrial sales for April-June 2025 with the same quarter in 2024, including specific data on captive consumers who switched to grid supply. The Authority further ordered that such data comparisons be made a regular feature of future tariff adjustment filings.
In the fuel cost adjustment case, Nepra approved a refund of Rs0.7872/unit for June 2025, slightly higher than the Rs0.6541/unit originally sought. This refund will be reflected in the August bills of all consumer categories, except lifeline and protected customers, pre-paid users, and EV charging stations.
