Tariff cut of Rs1.14 fails to satisfy businessmen

As the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) decided on Tuesday to reduce the national average power tariff by Rs1.14 per unit, the move was criticised by industrialists and businesspersons from Karachi as being “too minuscule”. The decision to reduce the tariff was taken at a public hearing presided over by Nepra members Maqsood Anwar and Rafique Shaikh. The government team, led by the Power Division additional secretary, Mehfooz Bhatti, said the regulator had determined national average tariff — excluding all taxes, surcharges and duties — at Rs34 for FY2025-26, down Rs1.50 per unit from Rs35.50 per unit last year. After subsidies and cross-subsidies, the government has worked out the tariff to be Rs31.59 per unit, as compared to Rs32.73 per unit last year, a reduction of Re1.14 per unit.