With a summary for increase in price of natural gas by up to 35% on the table, the Cabinet Committee on Energy (CCoE) approved a flat tariff of Rs12.96 per unit for electricity consumers across the country on additional consumption for four winter months in an effort to promote use of electricity appliances for heating room and water.
The CCoE meeting presided over by Planning Minister Asad Umar “approved the summary submitted by Power Division on the winter incentive package on incremental consumption for all domestic, commercial and general services consumers of XW-DISCOs and K-Electric from 1st November 2021 till 28th February 2022”, said an official statement.
In its summary, the power division reminded the CCoE that it had on September 13 approved in principle the winter incentive package on incremental consumption for all domestic, commercial, and general services consumers of XW-DISCOs… with the directive to “come back with a new summary with uniform application of package to the KE consumers as well”.
The CCoE had expressed the desire that instead of Rs12.66 per unit proposed by the power division for residential consumers, “the concessionary rate be fixed at Rs12.96 per unit”.
In its revised summary, the division said the application of winter package at concessionary rate of Rs12.96 per unit for all consumers on additional consumption was subsidy neutral for Discos and involved a subsidy requirement of Rs1.3 billion for the KE consumers.
Accordingly, the incentive package now approved would be applicable to all domestic, commercial, and general services consumers of Discos and KE for the period from Nov 1, 2021 to Feb 28, 2022.
(The rate charged for peak hours at the moment is about Rs20 per unit. The introduction of a concessionary rate is aimed at promoting the use of electricity for heating purposes, thereby inducing a reduction in the demand for gas.)
The reference period for incremental consumption will be November 2020 to February 2021. Under the initiative a rate of Rs12.96 per unit would be charged to domestic consumers (non-ToU or non-time of use) on the incremental consumption, above monthly use of 300 units or above the reference consumption in the corresponding months of the reference period, whichever is greater.
The same rate of Rs12.96 per kWh shall be charged to commercial consumers (non-ToU) and General Services consumers on the incremental consumption above the consumption in the corresponding months of the reference period.
For TOU (time of use) residential and commercial consumers, the rate of Rs12.96/kWh shall be charged on the respective peak/off-peak incremental consumption, above the reference peak/off-peak consumption in the corresponding months of the reference period.
New and existing consumers having no reference consumption available in the period from November 2020 to February 2021 shall be offered the same rate of Rs12.96 through benchmark consumption methodology.
However, it envisaged 25pc to 35pc increase in rates for all other consumers.
