ISLAMABAD: K-Electric (KE) said on Tuesday that the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority’s (Nepra) latest decision on review motions has significantly altered its earlier determinations — a move the utility warned would have significant consequences for the company’s financial health, its stakeholders, including consumers.
On Monday, Nepra slashed K-Electric’s average tariff by Rs7.6 per unit — from Rs39.97 to Rs32.37 per kilowatt-hour — following a review petition filed by the Power Division. The decision revises the power purchase price and other tariff components under KE’s multi-year tariff (MYT) regime for 2024-30.
Earlier, in May 2025, Nepra had approved a base tariff increase of Rs6.15 per unit — an 18.18 percent jump — setting KE’s average rate at Rs39.97 per unit for FY2023-24. Now, the regulator has not only reversed that hike but added a further reduction of Rs1.45 per unit, bringing the total cut to Rs7.6 per unit.
A senior source told The News that each rupee reduction in tariff translates to an estimated Rs15 billion in annual losses for the company. An energy expert said Nepra’s revised determination would ease the government’s subsidy burden by roughly Rs7.6 per unit, which had been cushioning Karachi’s consumers under the uniform tariff policy. “So, it’s not really a saving or relief per se — it’s a transfer of fiscal burden of nearly Rs100 to Rs110 billion annually, or about Rs700 billion over the next seven years, onto the utility,” the expert noted.
He warned that such a steep reduction could cause immediate financial and operational shocks. “You don’t pull hundreds of billions out of a utility and expect business as usual,” he said, adding that Karachi’s grid and consumers could feel the impact “fast and hard.” The cut, he cautioned, may delay investments in transmission, distribution, and renewable energy projects, straining power reliability in Pakistan’s largest city.
According to KE’s disclosure to the Pakistan Stock Exchange, Nepra’s ruling covers several areas, including tariff determinations for its generation, transmission, and distribution businesses, investment plans and loss assessments for FY2024-30. KE said it was “reviewing Nepra’s decisions in detail and will exercise all available remedies as permitted under the applicable laws and regulatory framework.”
A KE spokesperson clarified through “X” statement that “the recent announcement by the regulator is not applicable to customer bills. Therefore, there is no change or reduction in what customers will be charged.”
