ISLAMABAD: The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) on Wednesday directed K-Electric (KE) and other distribution companies (Discos) to refund Rs4.035 and 50 paise per unit, respectively, to consumers for overcharging in April and May.

The decision was made in response to requests from the Power Division, which had sought to cap the negative fuel adjustment for KE at Rs4 per unit for April and impose an additional 10 paise per unit on Discos` consumers for May. Nepra rejected both proposals.

In KE`s case, Nepra ruled that the Power Division lacked the legal standing to request deferral or rejection of fuel cost adjustments without formal approval from the prime minister and the federal cabinet.

For Discos, Nepra approved a negative fuel charge adjustment of 50 paise per unit for electricity consumed in May, based on pending adjustments of independent power producers (IPPs) in consultation with the Central Power Purchasing Agency (CPPA).

Both refunds Rs4.035 per unit for KE and 50 paise per unit for Discos will be reflected in consumer bills for July.

On a separate note, Nepra Member (Technical) from Sindh, Rafique A. Shaikh, highlighted that systemic inefficiencies and mismanagement had added a financial burden of over Rs170 billion on consumers during FY25. He cited the underutilisation of the MatiariLahore transmission line and delays in KE`s integration with the national grid as key contributing factors.

Mr Shaikh pointed out that multiple unresolved issues had been affecting the power sector for several months, particularly in monthly fuel charges, without any meaningful improvement.

The prolonged forced outage of the Guddu 747MW steam turbine alone resulted in losses of Rs116bn ($412.81 million) in FY25. Partial Load Adjustment Charges (PLAC) added another Rs37.2bn ($132.41m), exacerbating financial stress for consumers.

Despite full-capacity payments, utilisation of the high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission line remained low averaging just 40pc (1,600MW) signalling inefficiencies and wastage of system capacity. Additional avoidable losses due to system constraints pushed the cumulative financial impact to Rs13.86bn ($49.33m) for the year.