Electricity Tariffs to Decrease by Rs1.71 Per Unit After NEPRA Approval

The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) has granted approval to a government proposal that will lower electricity tariffs by Rs1.71 per unit, acknowledging a reduction in the Petroleum Development Levy (PDL).

This tariff reduction will be applicable to all consumers across the country, including those in Karachi, and will be in effect from April to June 2025.

Earlier in the month, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, after reaching an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), announced a decrease in power tariffs for both domestic and industrial consumers, specifically by Rs7.41 and Rs7.69 per unit, respectively.

The decision has been submitted to the federal government for official implementation. NEPRA has clarified that lifeline consumers will not benefit from this reduction.

The federal government had initially requested the price reduction from NEPRA, which subsequently held a hearing on April 4 to discuss the matter.

“The Authority has no objection on the instant Motion, as it does not impact Nepra’s determined tariff, since the GOP [Government of Pakistan] has decided to provide additional subsidy from the expected collection of PDL,” NEPRA stated in its decision, which was published on its website.

The power regulator further noted in the notification: “Accordingly, the request of the Ministry [of Energy] to provide [an] additional subsidy of Rs.l.71/kWh to all consumers of XWDISCOs and K-Electric (except lifeline consumers) for the period from April 2025 to June 2025 is hereby approved.”

NEPRA mentioned that during the April 4 hearing, the energy minister indicated that the anticipated PDL collection for 3.5 months was approximately Rs58.6 billion, which would be used to provide tariff differential subsidies for consumers.

The NEPRA document stated, “The federal cabinet has approved this proposal and allowed to file the motion before Nepra so that [the] benefit can be passed on to the consumers in the billing month of April 2025.”

Previously, the power tariff for domestic consumers was Rs48.70 per unit, which had already been reduced to Rs45.05.

The new reduction of Rs7.41 per unit is effective immediately. For industrial consumers, the tariff, which was Rs58.50 per unit in June 2024, has been reduced to Rs48.19, with an additional reduction of Rs7.69 per unit now announced.