Central Power Purchasing Agency–Guaranteed (CPPA-G) has reported that industrial electricity consumption in October 2025 increased by 20% compared to the same month last year.
This information was shared during the public hearing on Fuel Charges Adjustment (FCA) for October 2025. The hearing was presided over by NEPRA Chairman Waseem Mukhtar, Member (Technical) Rafiq Ahmed Sheikh, Member (Development) Maqsood Anwar Khan, and Member (Law) Amna Ahmed.
CPPA-G proposed a negative adjustment of 65 paisa per kilowatt-hour for October 2025. However, since this will replace the negative adjustment of 48 paisa for September 2025, the net impact on consumers—excluding lifeline consumers—will be 17 paisa per kilowatt-hour.
During the hearing, the Member (Development) expressed satisfaction with the sudden 20% rise in industrial electricity usage and noted that previous hearings recorded a decline in industrial load due to a shift toward net metering and factory closures. The latest CPPA-G data, however, indicates a reversal of this trend.
CPPA-G CEO Rehan Akhtar stated that industrial consumption increased by nearly 25% in the first quarter of the current fiscal year. However, there were differing views on the reasons behind this rise. It was suggested that the increase may be linked to captive power plants (CPPs) shifting from gas to the national grid. However, the data presented only covered distribution companies (DISCOs) such as LESCO and did not include K-Electric, where most CPPs have already shifted to the grid.
He clarified that despite K-Electric’s generation increasing from 1,000 MW to 2,050 MW, the total capacity payments made to power producers have not changed, as these contractual payments are fixed and not dependent on consumption.
Under NEPRA’s tariff methodology, PPP (CPPA + CPP) is of a pass-through nature, meaning any changes are transferred to consumers through quarterly tariff adjustments. All DISCOs and K-Electric are treated equally, and the output of any specific power plant cannot be allocated only to a single utility. However, for assessment, the system operator simulated a zero-draw scenario for K-Electric while keeping all other variables constant.
According to this simulation, the impact of additional K-Electric drawl on FCA was as follows:
- August 2025: Increase of 9 paisa per kilowatt-hour
- September 2025: Decrease of 7 paisa per kilowatt-hour
- October 2025: Increase of 34 paisa per kilowatt-hour
