ISLAMABAD: Pakistani power consumers may get relief of around Rs1.75 per unit on electricity bills over the next three months as distribution companies have petitioned the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority to refund nearly Rs64 billion under the first quarterly tariff adjustments (QTA) of CY2026.
These utilities have asked Nepra to authorize them to return Rs63.94 billion to consumers as part of first quarterly tariff adjustments covering January through March 2026, the largest single chunk being Rs36.84 billion in capacity charge refunds.
Notably, consumers are currently paying 42 paisa per unit under a positive QTA tied to Rs10.8 billion in higher costs for Oct–Dec 2025. It is expiring next month. It will be replaced by a negative QTA, reducing tariffs by about Rs2.15 per unit over three months.
Nepra has decided to hold a public hearing on this petition on May 19. It will determine the final per-unit adjustment before any refunds flow to consumers.
The regulator said any per-unit relief it approves for Discos will also apply automatically to customers of K-Electric, Karachi’s private power supplier, in keeping with federal government guidelines requiring uniform quarterly adjustments nationwide.
Beyond capacity charges, Discos said they are prepared to return Rs11.24 billion tied to use of system charges (UoSC) and market operator fees (MOF), and Rs23.5 billion on account of incremental units. Partially offsetting those refunds, the petition calls for recovering Rs2.77 billion related to transmission and distribution losses and an additional Rs4.876 billion in variable operations and maintenance charges.
Among individual utilities, Faisalabad Electric Supply Company carries the largest refund obligation at Rs10.45 billion, followed by Hyderabad Electric Supply Company at Rs10.14 billion and Peshawar Electric Supply Company at Rs8.63 billion. Lahore Electric Supply Company would return Rs7.9 billion, Islamabad Electric Company Rs6.37 billion and Multan Electric Company Rs6.34 billion.
Smaller refunds are owed by Gujranwala Electric Power Company at Rs5.08 billion, Sukkur Electric Power Company at Rs2.9 billion, Quetta Electric Supply Company at Rs2.595 billion and Tribal Electric Supply Company at Rs3.01 billion. Hazara Electric Supply Company faces the smallest obligation at Rs495 million.
