Islamabad, March 8, 2025 – Residents of Karachi are set to receive relief in their upcoming electricity bills as K-Electric, the city’s power utility, has submitted a provisional monthly Fuel Charges Adjustment (FCA) request for January 2025.
If approved, this adjustment will translate into a reduction of PKR 4.84 per kWh for electricity consumers in Karachi.
The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) is yet to announce the hearing date for this request. Once the decision is finalized, NEPRA will determine the exact FCA amount to be passed on to customers and specify the duration for which the relief will be applicable.
In addition to the January FCA, NEPRA has also issued its decision regarding K-Electric’s petition for the FCA for December 2024. This adjustment indicates a relief of PKR 3.00 per kWh, which will be reflected in electricity bills for Karachi consumers in March 2025.
To safeguard consumers from additional costs in the future, NEPRA has provisionally retained an amount of PKR 2.01 billion. This retention accounts for adjustments related to partial load operations, open cycle inefficiencies, degradation curves, and startup costs. The retained amount will be adjusted against pending claims from K-Electric, ensuring that Karachi’s electricity consumers are not burdened with these costs at a later stage.
Fuel charge adjustments are incurred due to fluctuations in global fuel prices and shifts in the electricity generation mix. These costs are reviewed and approved by NEPRA before being reflected in consumer bills. When fuel prices decline globally, consumers in Karachi benefit from negative FCA adjustments, leading to lower electricity bills.
Electricity rates in Karachi are determined by NEPRA and officially notified by the Federal Government. As per the regulatory decision, the FCA relief will be applicable to all consumer categories except lifeline consumers, domestic protected consumers, Electric Vehicle Charging Stations (EVCS), and prepaid electricity customers who have opted for prepaid tariffs.
With these adjustments, Karachi’s electricity consumers can expect a temporary respite in their power bills, providing some relief from the burden of high energy costs. However, the final implementation depends on regulatory approvals, which will clarify the extent of the benefit to be passed on to the city’s electricity consumers.