Reporting snapshot · 17 October 2026 (Asia/Karachi). Pakistan's distribution companies have applied to NEPRA for a Rs2.5624 per unit positive fuel charges adjustment for September 2026, to be billed to consumers in November if approved. The regulator has scheduled a public hearing for 29 October. The Power Division said on 15 October that targeted load management had limited the increase from a potential Rs5–Rs6 per unit. The new filing details September's full fuel mix by source and cost, which the earlier announcement did not.
What the DISCOs have filed for
The Central Power Purchasing Agency-Guarantee (CPPA-G), acting on behalf of the ex-WAPDA distribution companies, has filed a petition with the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) seeking a positive fuel charges adjustment (FCA) of Rs2.5624 per unit for September 2026. The regulator has scheduled a public hearing for 29 October to consider the request, The Express Tribune reported on 17 October, citing the application.
The proposed recovery is also expected to apply to K-Electric consumers under the government’s uniform tariff policy, which sets K-Electric’s consumer-end rate at the same level as the ex-WAPDA distribution companies. The Express Tribune reported the application on the same day it said NEPRA posted the petition.
An FCA reconciles the fuel cost a distribution company was allowed to recover when its tariff was set with the fuel cost it actually incurred. When the actual figure is higher, the difference is added to a later bill; when it is lower, consumers receive a credit.
What the September fuel mix looked like
According to the data submitted to NEPRA, total electricity generation stood at 13,217 gigawatt-hours (GWh) during September, while net electricity supplied to distribution companies amounted to 12,760 GWh once transmission losses and electricity sold to independent power producers were deducted, The Express Tribune reported.
Hydropower remained the largest source, contributing 4,834 GWh, or 36.58 per cent of the total. Nuclear power plants generated 1,893 GWh (14.32 per cent) and imported coal-fired plants 2,155 GWh (16.31 per cent) at Rs17.2329 per unit. Liquefied natural gas — the fuel most exposed to the regional war and to Pakistan’s Qatar force-majeure declaration — accounted for 804 GWh (6.08 per cent) at Rs39.7372 per unit. High-speed diesel was the most expensive major source at Rs62.1381 per unit, followed by furnace oil at Rs44.8613, gas at Rs13.0414, local coal at Rs5.9946 and nuclear at Rs2.9045 per unit.
The reported reference fuel cost was Rs7.4596 per unit; the proposed Rs2.5624 per unit adjustment reflects the gap between the reference and the actual fuel-related charges incurred during September. The data also indicate a continuing rise in nuclear generation costs over recent months, although The Express Tribune noted that the figures would need to be compared with previous monthly filings to establish the extent of the increase.
Why the increase is smaller than it could have been
The Power Division said on 15 October that it had averted a potential Rs5–Rs6 per unit increase in the September FCA through targeted load management and other measures, Geo News reported.
“Targeted load management and other measures helped limit the impact of expensive fuels used for power generation, saving consumers from an additional burden of up to Rs3.44 per unit,” the spokesperson said. Targeted load management for two to two-and-a-half hours during September helped reduce reliance on costly alternative fuels, including furnace oil and high-speed diesel.
The division added that the provision of imported re-gasified liquefied natural gas (RLNG) for power generation at domestic gas prices had further eased the burden on consumers by Rs0.83 per unit. Consequently, the September FCA is Rs1.45 per unit higher than the August adjustment, with an estimated financial impact of Rs32.7 billion on consumers’ electricity bills in November 2026.
Why fuel costs are rising again
The Power Division said international fuel prices had risen sharply amid the regional conflict and disruptions to fuel supply chains following the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Brent crude oil prices had surged beyond $120 per barrel against the benchmark of around $70 per barrel assumed during the determination of the base electricity tariff.
Despite Qatar’s declaration of force majeure, Pakistan continued to meet its RLNG requirements through available contracted supplies and additional spot cargoes. RLNG is the most exposed fuel source: the September unit cost of Rs39.7372 is more than double the local coal figure of Rs5.9946 and more than triple hydropower’s near-zero fuel cost. The combined impact of fuel price adjustments and quarterly tariff adjustments during January-August 2026 had been limited to Rs0.65 per unit, equivalent to a 1.9 per cent increase over the base electricity tariff, the Power Division said.
How this fits with the August adjustment
The September filing is the second consecutive one above Rs1 per unit. NEPRA notified a Rs1.11 per unit August FCA in October, as KhabarWire reported on 9 October, and the September filing would push the two-month total to Rs3.67 per unit if both are approved in their filed amounts. The August story had two unreconciled aggregate figures — Rs16 billion from The Express Tribune and about Rs19 billion from Geo News — illustrating that NEPRA does not publish a single consolidated total for the consumer impact. The DISCO privatisation programme, which KhabarWire reported on 5 October, runs in parallel: the federal government told the IMF it would sell nine of the ten ex-WAPDA distribution companies by the end of December 2027, excluding Quetta, and the Fund’s latest review, concluded on 8 October, cleared a further tranche while pressing for cost-reflective tariffs.
What is still uncertain
NEPRA’s 29 October public hearing will consider the filed Rs2.5624 per unit, but the regulator is not bound to approve it in that form. The hearing may revise the per-unit amount up or down, and any approval would set the figure that flows into November bills. The Power Division’s Rs32.7 billion estimate rests on assumptions about billed units and tariff categories that NEPRA does not separately publish. The fuel-mix data also raise questions: the reported nuclear generation cost has risen month on month, and The Express Tribune noted that a comparison with earlier monthly filings would be needed to quantify the increase. Whether that trajectory continues depends on imported fuel prices, the rupee’s exchange rate and any quarterly tariff adjustment that NEPRA may approve in parallel.
Sources & reporting notes
This is a synthesis of published material, not eyewitness reporting. Sources were reviewed on 17 October 2026 (Asia/Karachi). The CPPA-G filing on behalf of DISCOs is reported by The Express Tribune, which cites the application directly and reproduces the per-unit figure, the reference fuel cost, the total generation, the net supply to distribution companies and the fuel-mix breakdown by source and cost. The Power Division's 15 October statement, reported by Geo News, is the separate announcement that targeted load management had contained the increase from a potential Rs5–Rs6 per unit and that the November-bill impact is estimated at Rs32.7 billion. The August FCA background, including the Rs1.11 per unit figure and the unreconciled Rs16bn–Rs19bn consumer-impact estimates, is from KhabarWire's 9 October read of NEPRA's notification, The Express Tribune and Geo News. The DISCO privatisation timeline and the IMF fourth-review tranche are from KhabarWire's 5 October and 8 October pieces, respectively.
- Geo News — Load management 'helps avert' potential Rs6 per unit hike: Power DivisionPublished 15 October 2026 · The Power Division's statement that targeted load management saved up to Rs3.44 per unit, that RLNG at domestic prices eased the burden by Rs0.83 per unit, that the September FCA is Rs1.45 per unit higher than the August adjustment and that the November-bill impact is estimated at Rs32.7 billion; the Brent benchmark of $70/bbl vs $120/bbl in September.
- The Express Tribune — DISCOs seek Rs2.6/unit hike for SeptPublished 17 October 2026 · The CPPA-G filing on behalf of DISCOs for a Rs2.5624 per unit positive FCA for September, the 29 October NEPRA public hearing, the Rs7.4596 per unit reference fuel cost, the September generation of 13,217 GWh and net supply of 12,760 GWh, and the full fuel-mix breakdown by source and unit cost.
- NEPRA — News & UpdatesThe regulator's public news page where admission notices and decisions are posted; the September FCA hearing notice and petition will be linked here as they are published, alongside the August FCA notification of 7 October 2026.
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