NEPRA Sets 75 Paisa Per Unit Fuel Cost Adjustment for August 2026 Bills

NEPRA (the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority) has notified a fuel cost adjustment (FCA) of Rs. 0.75 per unit for August 2026 electricity bills, adding a collective Rs. 9.8 billion to the national power bill to settle actual fuel costs incurred in June 2026. The August FCA is 41 paisa per unit higher than July's adjustment of Rs. 0.34 per unit, and applies to all WAPDA-origin distribution companies (DISCOs) — including LESCO, IESCO, MEPCO, PESCO, HESCO, QESCO, FESCO, TESCO, and GEPCO — as well as K-Electric (KE), which serves Karachi.

How the August FCA Was Calculated

The FCA is a monthly pass-through mechanism that reconciles what power producers actually spent on fuel against the reference fuel cost embedded in the notified consumer-end tariff. When actual costs exceed the reference, consumers pay the difference in the following billing month; when costs fall below the reference, consumers receive a relief credit instead.

For June 2026, the Central Power Purchasing Agency (CPPA) — the state body that procures electricity in bulk on behalf of DISCOs — reported an actual average fuel charges component of Rs. 8.9138 per kWh against a notified reference of Rs. 7.7138 per kWh. On that basis, CPPA sought an FCA of Rs. 1.20 per unit from consumers.

NEPRA reviewed the submission and applied certain downward adjustments, arriving at an actual fuel component of Rs. 8.4641 per kWh. The consumer-facing FCA was accordingly set at Rs. 0.7503 per unit — roughly 37 paisa less than CPPA had demanded — before being rounded for official notification.

Which Consumers Are Affected

The August FCA applies to virtually all consumer categories across WAPDA-origin DISCOs and KE. Three groups are explicitly exempt:

• Lifeline consumers — low-income households on the subsidised lifeline slab
• Electric vehicle (EV) charging stations
• Prepaid electricity consumers

Consumers enrolled in the incremental consumption package are included and will see the 75 paisa per unit charge on their August bills. All DISCOs and KE are required under NEPRA's notification to reflect the June 2026 FCA in bills issued during August 2026.

NEPRA Flags Rs. 4.9 Billion in Partial Loading Charges

Alongside approving the FCA, NEPRA expressed concern over Rs. 4.9 billion in partial loading charges embedded in June's fuel cost claim. These charges arise when thermal power plants operate below their contracted output levels yet still collect a portion of fixed capacity payments under Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs).

Overall electricity generation in June 2026 fell 5.6 per cent short of projected levels, according to the Power Division and its associated entities. CPPA argued the shortfall was not caused by plant-level operational inefficiency but by declining daytime grid demand — a pattern increasingly attributed to the rapid spread of rooftop solar installations displacing consumption from the national grid during daylight hours. NEPRA noted the concern in its notification but did not issue a formal directive on the partial loading matter in this order.