Nepra allows Rs12 per unit hike in KE tariff

The Nat­ional Electric Power Regu­latory Authority (Nepra) on Monday allowed Rs12.68 per unit increase in power rates for K-Electric under quarterly tariff adjustment (QTA) for the period — April to June FY2021-22, with a net additional revenue of about Rs56bn to the Karachi-based private utility. The decision is unlikely to affect consumers in Karachi because of uniform tariff policy of the government under which same power rates are applied across the country for consumers of all distribution companies, including KE. The federal government is, however, expected to take the additional financial hit through differential tariff subsidies paid out of the budget to maintain uniform rates for all distribution companies. This was reinforced by the regulator in a rather non-committal hit in a statement. “As per practice, the government maintains a uniform tariff across the country and generally the differential is adjusted through subsidy,” it said.