ISLAMABAD: The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) has cleared a three-year package offering heavily discounted electricity to industries and farmers using more power than last year, cutting the incremental tariff to Rs22.98 per unit to spur production and economic growth.
Announced by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on October 23, the package cuts additional electricity rates to Rs22.98 per unit from Rs34 for industries and Rs38 for agriculture, applying only to usage above last year’s levels. The Power Division petitioned Nepra, which held a public hearing on November 11 and approved the plan on Tuesday (December 9).
Energy Minister Awais Leghari while welcoming the decision said the power package would help industries plan better for the future, expand output and create new employment opportunities. “Industry and agriculture are the backbone of our economy. Supplying cheaper electricity on additional usage will directly translate into higher production and stronger economic activity,” he said.
The discounted tariff will also be extended to greenfield industries, including data centres and crypto-mining operations, once they are formally declared as industries by the government, a move aimed at unlocking new high-tech investment.
The initiative is aimed at reviving power demand, improving system efficiency, and easing the financial strain of idle generation capacity on the national grid. The package covers both time-of-use and non-ToU consumers under XW-DISCOs and K-Electric. Positive Fuel Cost Adjustments will apply to eligible users, while quarterly tariff adjustments (QTAs), debt service surcharge (DSS), and negative FCAs will not be applicable on incremental consumption. If incremental usage in these sectors in aggregate exceeds 25 per cent growth above baseline, the scheme will be reviewed to account for marginal cost variations. The relief will not apply to domestic or commercial consumers.
Under the new structure, a farming consumer using an extra 100 units will see a reduction of nearly Rs7 per unit in average power cost. Industrial users consuming an additional 1,000 units are expected to benefit from an average reduction of about Rs5 per unit.
“We are delivering on our commitments to revive industry and strengthen the economy,” Leghari said, expressing confidence that the initiative would help stabilise growth and expand exports.
All captive power plants (CPPs) will be considered as new consumers for benchmark consumption calculations. Net-metering users can get the package only if they used more electricity from the grid (imported) than they sent back (exported) during the month, both in peak and off-peak hours. The extra units they used will be counted based only on the net imported electricity (imports minus exports). This extra use will then be divided between peak and off-peak hours according to how much was used in each period.
