KARACHI: Pakistani power consumers will see a modest net relief of just 0.80 rupees per unit on their June electricity bills, following two separate regulatory decisions announced Thursday.
The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) approved a reduction of 1.98 rupees per unit under the first quarterly adjustment of 2026, a move expected to provide over 67 billion rupees in consumer relief. That reduction will apply to bills for June, July and August.
However, the relief in June will be largely offset by a separate fuel charge adjustment. Nepra simultaneously approved a hike of 1.19 rupees per unit under the April 2026 fuel price adjustment, trimming the net benefit for the current billing month to 0.80 rupees per unit.
Both adjustments apply uniformly across the country, including consumers of K-Electric, the regulator said in its notification. Lifeline consumers are excluded from the revised tariff structure under the quarterly adjustment.
The Central Power Purchasing Agency had initially requested a higher fuel adjustment of 1.73 rupees per unit for April. Nepra said it approved the lower figure of 1.19 rupees after reviewing the submitted data and calculations.
The Power Division said it was important to understand that a serious global energy crisis emerged in April 2026 due to the Iran-US conflict, which led to a severe shortage of Re-gasified Liquefied Natural Gas (RLNG). The expected Brent crude oil price in the international market rose sharply from around $70 per barrel to as high as $120 per barrel.
Under normal circumstances, such developments could have resulted in an additional fuel adjustment burden of Rs5 to Rs6 per unit on electricity consumers. However, the government took timely measures, including moderate load management of only two to 2.25 hours daily, early closure of markets, additional allocation of indigenous gas and limited use of furnace oil.
These interventions helped restrict the actual fuel adjustment to Rs1.73 per unit, preventing an estimated financial burden of around Rs38 billion from being passed on to consumers during April, it added.
The Power Division further stated that the reduction of Rs1.93 per unit under the quarterly adjustment, amounting to approximately Rs65 billion, was achieved through administrative reforms, reduction in line losses, increased electricity demand, tariff stability and incremental tariff packages.
The statement maintained that the developments reflected prudent tariff planning and effective management by the government, which helped protect consumers from a substantial increase in electricity costs despite challenging global and regional circumstances.
