The federal government asked Nepra on Friday to lower energy tariffs by Rs1.71 per unit nationwide, including Karachi.
Official leaks revealed that the prime minister would cut electricity costs by Rs8 per unit in his March 23 speech. In his Pakistan Day speech, the prime minister did not announce any assistance package.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) blocked the government’s power pricing reduction by withholding a staff-level agreement (SLA) on the first biennial review of the $7 billion Extended Fund Facility.
However, the Fund previously stated that it had authorized just a Re1 per unit power tariff decrease against a grid fee on industrial captive power facilities.
During the March 4-14 review meetings, the IMF staff delegation was informed of a Rs2 per unit pricing drop due to savings from renegotiating contracts with independent power producers.
As an afterthought, the authorities considered raising the petroleum charge on petrol and diesel by Rs10 to the maximum of Rs70 allowed under the Finance Act 2025 to maximize power tariff relief. Another Rs2-2.50 per unit impact is possible.
The government asked Nepra to lower prices by raising tariff subsidies.
The regulator will hear the government’s petition on April 4 for all companies, including K-Electric.
The administration proposes the move from April to June 2025, per the petition.
On March 15, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) announced that the premier had decided to maintain petroleum prices at the current level against up to Rs13 per litre calculated by the oil regulator and petroleum division and transfer its financial impact to electricity consumers.
Nepra is considering Discos’ annual base tariff modification requests. Only seven independent power producers have petitioned Nepra for tariff modifications after civil-military task force meetings.
Sources said the IMF had not permitted real estate tax rate reductions, although the 2019 budget may decrease a 2pc federal excise charge on first transactions.
