Officials stated that the proposed increase is primarily driven by higher international fuel prices.
The Central Power Production Agency (CPPA-G) reported that the average fuel cost of electricity rose to Rs10.02 per unit in September, compared to a reference price of Rs7.46. Total power generation costs for the month reached Rs127.87 billion. RLNG-based generation accounted for Rs31.93 billion of these costs, while imported coal cost Rs37.14 billion.
Local gas costs amounted to Rs13.89 billion, and diesel costs reached Rs13.26 billion. Furnace oil cost Rs11.81 billion, while local coal cost Rs7.95 billion. Nationwide demand reached 10,549 gigawatt-hours (GWh) in September, representing a 6.5% increase from the 9,904 GWh recorded a year earlier.
Residential consumption rose 8.4% to 5,810 GWh, while industrial use increased 6.7% to 2,597 GWh. Commercial consumption grew by 3.2%, and general services saw a 3% increase. Bulk consumers saw a 1% growth, while agricultural consumption fell 6.7% to 376 GWh.
Consumption in other sectors increased by 7.3%. Distribution companies sold 12.76 billion units during the month. Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Ltd supplied 218 MMCFD, with actual consumption standing at 194 MMCFD, which is about 90% of the allocated volume.
Haveli Bahadur Shah sought 78 MMCFD but received only 10.7 MMCFD. In September, Haveli Bahadur Shah generated 29.92 GWh from RLNG, while Bhikki and Balu ki generated 229 GWh and 506 GWh respectively. NEPRA will issue its decision on the CPPA-G petition separately.
