Power tariff hiked for commercial, agriculture, bulk consumers

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif-led federal cabinet has approved the proposal to increase the power tariff for commercial, agricultural, and bulk consumers, sources said on Thursday.

According to the sources, the cabinet approved an increase in the basic tariff for commercial consumers by Rs8.04 per unit, while the price for the agriculture sector was increased by Rs6.62 per unit.

They added that the government hiked the power tariff for bulk consumers by Rs5.96 per unit.

Following the approval of the summary, commercial consumers would have to pay Rs77.15 per unit.

Meanwhile, the per unit tariff for bulk users would reach Rs59.96.

After the addition of Rs6.62 per unit in electricity value, the agriculture consumers would buy per unit electricity in Rs46.83. 

While per unit for general services would increase to Rs61.03 after an increase of Rs6.98.

The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) was informed about the federal cabinet's decision. 

The government will issue the notification of a fresh increase in charges after Nepra’s approval.

Moreover, the federal cabinet has also approved an increase in the basic tariff for domestic users by Rs7.12 per unit. 

However, all domestic consumers, who use up to 200 units monthly, were exempted from the increase in power tariff for three months, from July to September 2024.

Earlier this week, Nepra approved the increase of Rs3.33 per unit in the fuel cost adjustment charges for May.

“The above adjustment of Rs.3.3287/kWh shall be applicable to all the consumer categories except Electric Vehicle Charging Stations (EVCS) and lifeline consumers,” Nepra said in a notification.