New Electricity Unit Price in Pakistan for Homes & Businesses Announced

NEPRA has announced new electricity tariffs that will impact both residential and commercial users across the country from July 1. This change introduces fixed monthly charges for households and significantly increases fees for commercial and industrial sectors.

1. Residential Consumers:
   • For residential consumers using 200 to 1000 units per month, fixed charges have been set at varying rates.
   • Commercial consumers will experience a 300% increase in fixed charges, while industrial users will face up to a 355% increase.
2. Impact on Income:
   • These tariff adjustments are aimed at increasing revenue through fixed charges.
   • Starting from July 1, 2024, residential consumers using 301-400 units will pay a fixed charge of 200 PKR per month, while those using 401-500 units will pay 400 PKR.
   • Users consuming 501-600 units will pay 600 PKR.
   • For residential consumers using 601-700 units, the fixed charge will be 800 PKR per month, and those exceeding 700 units will pay 1000 PKR.
3. Time-of-Use (TOU) Meters:
   • Residential consumers using TOU meters will also pay a fixed charge of 1000 PKR per month.
4. Commercial Consumers:
   • Commercial users with loads less than 5 kilowatts will pay 1000 PKR per month.
   • However, for commercial users with loads greater than 5 kilowatts, the charges will increase from the existing 500 PKR to 2000 PKR per month, reflecting a 300% increase.
5. Industrial Consumers:
   • Industrial users consuming up to 25 kilowatts under Category B will pay 1000 PKR.
   • Category B users with loads up to 500 kilowatts will experience a 300% increase in fixed charges, paying 2000 PKR instead of the previous 500 PKR.
6. High Load Industrial Consumers:
   • For industrial users with loads exceeding 5000 kilowatts (Category B3), the charges will increase from 460 PKR to 2000 PKR, including a 335% increase.
   • All other high-load industrial users (Category B4) will also experiment with a 355% increase, paying 2000 PKR instead of the current 440 PKR.

These changes aim to boost revenue for distribution companies (DISCOs), which currently see only 2% of their revenue from fixed charges, despite these charges accounting for 72% of the total electricity cost structure. The shift seeks to better align the revenue and cost structure of electricity distribution.

The new tariffs mark a significant adjustment for all users, intending to balance the financial flow within the electricity sector.