ISLAMABAD: The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) has approved wheeling charges ranging from Rs6.23 to Rs19.62 per unit for bulk power consumers (BPCs) of all distribution companies participating in the competitive electricity trading market.
The decision clears a key hurdle for the launch of Pakistan’s competitive wholesale electricity market and paves the way for an upcoming 400MW electricity auction. Under the arrangement, open-access consumers will pay the national grid for transporting electricity from power suppliers to their facilities.
The approved Use of System Charges (UoSC) cover transmission and distribution costs, fixed grid charges and cross-subsidies. A B-3 industrial consumer will pay Rs6.23 per unit, while the rate for B-4 industrial consumers has been set at Rs9.09 per unit. These charges will be paid in addition to the electricity supply price, including generation costs, to be negotiated between private power suppliers and bulk consumers.
Pakistan currently has more than 3,000 bulk power consumers.
For C-3 and C-2 single-point distribution consumers, the UoSC has been set between Rs14.95 and Rs19.62 per unit, while general supply consumers in the A-2 and A-3 categories will pay Rs19.14 per unit.
Consumers opting out of the competitive wheeling auction will face considerably higher transport charges, ranging from Rs19.17 to Rs32.56 per unit, depending on their category. Non-participating B-3 and B-4 consumers will pay Rs19.17 and Rs25.45 per unit, respectively, while C-2 and C-3 consumers will be charged Rs31.30 and Rs32.56. The rate for A-2 and A-3 consumers has been fixed at Rs32.08 per unit.
In addition, a fixed grid charge of Rs1 per kilowatt per month, based on sanctioned load, will apply to all categories regardless of participation in the competitive auction.
The uniform charges will apply across all distribution companies, including K-Electric, as part of efforts to formally launch the competitive wholesale electricity market.
In the first phase, the Independent System and Market Operator (ISMO) will auction 400MW of electricity within the next few months. The government has allocated a total of 800MW for competitive auctions to be conducted in two phases.
Nepra reached its decision after reviewing submissions from the Power Division, ISMO, K-Electric and bulk power consumers concerning the mechanism for determining and settling UoSC, including inter-DISCO differentials, cross-subsidies and transmission and distribution losses.
The Power Division had proposed that the impact of inter-DISCO differentials resulting from the uniform application of UoSC should not be imposed exclusively on wheeling consumers.
Nepra said the central principle behind its adjustment mechanism was to ensure that UoSC applicable to open-access consumers remained equal to those applicable to similarly placed consumers served by suppliers of last resort (SOLRs).
Based on the transmission and distribution losses of individual DISCOs, the regulator approved a uniform loss factor of 8.04% at the 11kV level. For consumers connected at 132kV, a uniform loss factor of 1.51% was approved, as proposed by the Power Division.
The regulator further ruled that the additional charge would apply to all consumers, including open-access and SOLR consumers, to account for differences among distribution companies and K-Electric while maintaining uniformity.
The federal government has already approved framework guidelines for wheeling 800MW of electricity through bilateral competitive trading, marking a step towards integrated energy planning across Pakistan.
Under the framework, 800MW of generation capacity will be auctioned competitively for a period of five years. The volume is expected to increase gradually after the initial trial phase, subject to government approval.
ISMO will now conduct the first 400MW auction under procedures recently approved by Nepra. The market operator is expected to announce the auction calendar and detailed bidding procedures shortly. Bid values will have no prescribed upper or lower limit and will remain fixed for one year.
The development also fulfils key milestones under Pakistan’s IMF programme, under which approval of the auction guidelines and Nepra’s uniform wheeling charges had been targeted for December and January 2026, respectively.
Story by Khaleeq Kiani
