ISLAMABAD: Power consumers across the country, including Karachi, will see their October bills rise by about Rs2 per unit due to a fuel cost adjustment (FCA), despite more than three-fourths of generation coming from cheaper domestic sources.
At a public hearing before the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra), Rehan Akhtar, CEO of the Central Power Purchasing Agency (CPPA), explained that lower-than-expected hydropower output in August forced reliance on expensive imported fuels. Flooding had restricted water releases from Mangla and Tarbela dams, reducing hydropower’s share to 38pc against a projected 42pc. The shortfall was covered by costlier imported coal and RLNG, raising overall fuel costs by 19 paise per unit.
Mr Akhtar noted that the negative FCA of Rs1.79 per unit applied in September had expired, resulting in a net increase of Rs1.98 per unit for October bills.
Industrial consumers at the hearing protested that their base tariff — excluding taxes — had already surged to Rs35 per unit from about Rs29 after the expiry of the prime minister’s relief package in July, despite assurances of nine cents per unit power supply.
Nepra member Rafique A. Sheikh observed that transmission bottlenecks in the south prevented full use of cheaper generation sources. “Consumers continue to suffer because of system inefficiencies,” he remarked.
In August 2025, total power consumption rose 7.6pc year-on-year to 13,715GWh. Hydropower led the generation mix with 39pc, followed by RLNG (15.3pc), nuclear (15.1pc), local coal (10.1pc), imported coal (8pc), and domestic gas (7.3pc). Among major fuels, RLNG-based power remained the most expensive at Rs21.73 per unit, while nuclear was cheapest at Rs2.19 per unit. Renewables contributed 4.6pc, with negligible fuel costs.
Nepra confirmed that the October fuel adjustment would apply to both distribution companies and K-Electric consumers under federal guidelines.
Story by Khaleeq Kiani
