ISLAMABAD: Nepra industrial tariff Rs25.30 November 2026 is the new rate for industrial power users, after the regulator raised it from Rs22.98 per unit on Friday. The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority announced the revision of a special tariff that was introduced to revive industrial activity. The decision came after a split vote inside the regulator, and it lands at the same time as a fresh charge for all electricity users in their November bills. For factories, the change means higher power costs from this month, and for households, it means another addition to the bill.
The rate sits at the centre of an incremental support package Rs22.98 per unit that was introduced in December last year. The package gave industrial consumers extra power at a fixed rate, and it was due for a review after its first six months in June. Industrialists have been protesting against the package since May, saying it had failed to help them and was instead pushing their electricity bills up. The Power Division asked for the review late, after repeated reminders from the regulator, and the new rate followed that belated request.
The decision was not unanimous. The authority was split two against two, and the Waseem Mukhtar casting vote Nepra chairman used broke the deadlock. Chairman Waseem Mukhtar fully endorsed the written arguments of the two dissenting members, yet he still used his special casting vote to approve the revised rate of Rs25.30 per unit instead of keeping the old rate of Rs22.98. In his words, he exercised his second and casting vote under the Nepra Act in favour of the first opinion, and that opinion became the order of the authority.
The two members who opposed the change were Member Tariff Amina Ahmed and Member Development Maqsood Anwar, and the Amina Ahmed Maqsood Anwar dissent was set out in a joint note. They said the proposed rate of Rs25.30 per unit was a random number with no evidence behind it. They pointed out that the regulator’s own calculations put the real cost of supplying extra power far higher than the new rate. They called for the package to be suspended at once until real data was available, and they said the review the ministry was asked to submit five months ago had still not arrived.
At the heart of their objection was the marginal cost Rs31.83 per unit that Nepra’s own institutional calculations put forward. The dissenting members said the ministry’s proposed rate was based on the generation mix assumed when the package was designed, with updated fuel prices, and not on the real cost today. They argued that a package built on cost reflectivity could not carry on without a validated cost reflective rate. They also said other consumers should not have to pay for a review that the Ministry of Energy was asked to submit five months ago but had not provided.
The regulator also blamed the Power Division and its subordinate bodies for the mess. All four members agreed that the Power Division was required to submit revised calculations six months ago but had failed to do so despite repeated reminders. The members said the marginal price in proper form was not provided by either the Independent System and Market Operator or the Power Planning and Monitoring Company, both of which were duty bound to do so. They added that the lack of coordination between the bodies under the ministry had left the regulator in an unprecedented deadlock.
The determination sets deadlines for the missing information, and it warns of serious consequences if they are missed. The four members warned that failure to meet the deadlines could lead to an adverse outcome in the review of the programme, including its suspension or termination. They also said any body that fails to provide the required information within the set time would face legal proceedings under the applicable legal framework. The chairman said the ministry should be given another chance to provide the information, but he added that the dissenting members’ conclusions need serious consideration.
Ordinary consumers will feel the decision in their November bills through a separate charge. The fuel cost adjustment Rs2.37 November bills will be charged by all power distribution companies to recover an additional Rs25 billion. The regulator allowed the charge under the monthly fuel cost adjustment mechanism, and it applies to all consumers, including those served by K-Electric and other distribution companies. The dissenting members had warned that the package was already pushing costs onto all users, because extra consumption raised the system average fuel cost and the excluded units increased the quarterly adjustment paid by others.
Readers should keep two points in mind. First, the new rate is not the final word, because the regulator has set deadlines and warned that the package could be suspended or ended if the ministry still fails to provide the real cost data. Second, the dispute shows how a well meant incentive can turn into a burden when the numbers behind it are not checked on time. For industry, the higher rate adds to the cost of doing business, and for households, the November bill will carry the extra Rs2.37 per unit charge. The next test will come when the ministry answers the regulator, and the review that should have happened in June finally takes place.
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