70% additional charges are revealed in the electricity bills, only 30% of the electricity used by the consumers

 

70% additional charges are revealed in the electricity bills, only 30% of the electricity used by the consumers

From April 2022, the average price of electricity per unit in the country was increased by Rs. Received. Admitted in Nepra report

 Electricity consumers in Pakistan are being charged up to 70% of their bills in terms of capacity charges and losses. In the neighboring country India, the minimum average basic tariff has reached 28 rupees 33 paisa and the maximum has reached 76 rupees per unit compared to 6 and a half rupees per unit of electricity in the country.

The American broadcasting organization "Voice of America" ​​has stated in its report on the rising electricity prices in Pakistan that only 30% of the electricity bill is the cost of the electricity used by the consumers, while the remaining 70% is the capacity charges paid to the power producer and related to this sector. There are losses due to companies not upgrading their systems.

According to Nepra's own report, in 2023, for additional payments to IPPs, 65% of the money was collected from consumers through bills for electricity generation that they did not use. Analysts say that the government announcement shows that That this relief is of a temporary nature and every class, especially the low-income classes, will be more affected by the increase in the base tariff of electricity in the country.

The federal government has recently changed the electricity rates due to which the price of electricity per unit has also increased for the protected consumers. According to the data, from April 2022, the average price of electricity per unit in the country has increased by Rs 18. 

With the recent increase in electricity prices, the average electricity tariff in the country is Rs 29. per unit has reached, whereas in the neighboring country India, per unit of electricity is about six and a half rupees.

According to the report, the recent increase in electricity prices in Pakistan is considered unaffordable for the common man by experts, who say that the government is using the power sector to take a loan program from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). is transferring the losses to consumers to increase income, but despite this, the revolving debt in the energy sector in the country is continuously increasing instead of decreasing. 

Experts say that increasing fuel prices, falling value of rupee, capital payments. , circular debt i.e. circular debt, losses in transmission and distribution, electricity theft, less recovery of bills, seasonal differences in electricity consumption and other problems.

Energy sector experts and the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) itself in its annual report admit that the root cause of problems in the power sector is poor governance in the power sector, says energy expert Farhan Ali Khan in Pakistan. 60 percent of electricity is generated from fuel. 

If the prices of crude oil, gas and coal increase in the world market, then the electricity prices in the country will automatically become expensive. Farhan Khan says that Pakistan needs petroleum and Imports LNG, which costs 25 to 27 billion dollars annually. And around five percent of electricity is obtained from renewable sources.

Economist Abdul Sattar Khan says that electricity prices do not only include the price of fuel, but capacity payments also play a big role in the tariff. These are the payments that the private power producers have to make regardless of whether the electricity produced by them is used or not. 

According to the Nepra report, in 2023, the proportion of electricity used by thermal power plants was only 34.68 percent, that is, more than 65 percent of the thermal power was not used by consumers, but it was The bill must have been paid.

Experts say that the effect of capacity payments can be eliminated only when the use of electricity in the country is increased, but due to the bad economic situation in the country, instead of increasing the consumption of electricity, a decrease has been seen in 2023 compared to 2022. 

A huge decrease of 9.41 percent was observed in the purchase of electricity. The line losses of electricity supply in Pakistan are the highest in the region at this time, while according to experts, due to faults in the electricity transmission system, the system has reached its capacity. is used less than and thus its underutilization also increases the cost of electricity.

The efficiency of the power generation companies licensed by Nepra has been decreasing with time. The unit price had crossed 50 rupees in 2023, but the consumers have to pay the price.