Pakistan’s business community opposes Rs268bn tariff adjustments — Dawn
In Islamabad, the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) opposed an additional burden of Rs268 billion on consumers, which ten distribution companies propose to include in electricity tariffs through adjustments for previous years. Dawn reports.
FPCCI appealed to Pakistan’s National Electric Power Regulatory Authority, Nepra, calling on it to reject what it considers inflated claims. The federation said that the regulator had previously rejected part of these amounts or that they are the subject of disputes with third parties.
Applications for 2027
Ten distribution companies submitted applications for the indexation of multi-year tariffs for 2025–2030 for 2027, as well as for other tariff adjustments for end consumers. In total, they declared a revenue requirement of Rs2.64 trillion for electricity distribution and supply in 2027.
FPCCI’s special energy advisory committee analyzed the submitted documents, including claims related to working capital, electricity purchase prices, adjustments for previous years, and the profitability of the revenue base. According to the federation’s assessment, a significant share of these claims is retrospective, challenged by other parties, inconsistent with the companies’ own calculations, or lacking sufficient information for independent verification.
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Scale of adjustments
FPCCI noted that Islamabad Electric Supply Company’s claims for adjustments for previous years exceeded 212% of the company’s proposed annual margin, while at Sukkur Electric this figure amounted to 113% of the distribution margin. For Faisalabad Electric, it reached 91%; for Multan Electric, 68%; and for Quetta Electric, 60%.
Islamabad Electric Supply Company declared the largest amount of such adjustments — Rs158 billion — within its total revenue requirement of Rs525 billion. The federation believes that 70% of its claims are disputed or related to non-cash items, and were also submitted as a lump sum without a breakdown of components.
Business demands to the regulator
FPCCI called on Nepra to include its objections in the tariff-setting procedures and public hearings, as well as to require the companies to respond in writing to specific comments before the hearings. The federation also asks not to approve general adjustment claims without substantiation of individual components and to allow representatives of trade and industrial associations to participate in the consideration of the cases.
