Nepra questions K-Electric’s future amid heavy grid reliance
The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) on Wednesday approved a Rs4.98 per unit refund for K-Electric consumers for November’s fuel cost adjustment (FCA), applicable in February bills. However, the regulator wondered why the utility should have a generation licence if it’s drawing more than two-thirds of its supply from the national grid. At a public hearing convened on KE’s request for Rs4.98 per unit negative fuel cost adjustment for electricity consumed in November, Nepra’s technical member from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Maqsood Anwar, expressed concerns over KE’s overwhelming reliance on the national grid. He said that if K-Electric was meeting its 67pc requirement from the national grid (about 2,000 MW), it should also draw another 33pc from the National Transmission and Dispatch Company (NTDC) as well. He said that such a heavy reliance on the NTDC put a question mark on the KE’s long-term sustainability.