Electricity is set to become more expensive for consumers across Pakistan after the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) approved an additional fuel cost adjustment of Rs2.37 per unit, to be recovered through November bills.
The adjustment relates to the cost of fuel used to generate electricity in September 2026. It will appear as a separate line on consumers’ bills and applies to customers of all distribution companies, including K-Electric in Karachi.
The exact approved rate is Rs2.3673 per unit, lower than the Rs2.5624 per unit the Central Power Purchasing Agency had requested. NEPRA’s decision, notified on November 6, means distribution companies will recover roughly Rs25 billion from consumers through the one-month charge.
According to the regulator, the actual fuel cost of electricity generated in September was Rs9.82 per unit, against a reference fuel cost of Rs7.45 per unit. The gap of Rs2.37 per unit is what consumers will now pay. The charge is calculated on the units consumed in September, so a household that used 300 units that month will pay about Rs711 extra, while a 500-unit consumer will pay about Rs1,185 more.
Lifeline consumers, electric vehicle charging stations and consumers on prepaid tariffs are exempt from the adjustment. The charge also applies to consumers on the Incremental Consumption Package.
The decision was reached through the casting vote of the NEPRA chairman, while two members submitted dissenting notes. In a separate decision, the regulator provisionally raised the rate for industrial and private agricultural consumers under the special incremental consumption package from Rs22.98 to Rs25.30 per unit, effective from the November billing month.
The September adjustment is the highest fuel charge approved so far in 2026. The regulator has cut the power purchasing agency’s request in every month this year. The fuel cost adjustment is a routine monthly mechanism that passes on the difference between the fuel cost built into the tariff and the actual cost incurred, and it does not change the base electricity tariff. NEPRA decided the September adjustment after a public hearing on October 29 and issued it through S.R.O. 2094(I)/2026. The order says a November bill issued before the notification may carry the charge in the following month instead, and the regulator has directed the power ministry to complete outstanding technical assessments covering the review periods from December 2025 to November 2026.