Large Consumers May Face Higher Electricity Bills

Power consumers could face higher costs for using shared electricity infrastructure under a set of changes proposed by the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA), with the regulator targeting grid sharing, dedicated equipment and temporary connections.

NEPRA has proposed amendments to the Consumer Service Manual that would change how distribution companies handle connections for high-rise buildings, industrial and commercial users, as well as rules for temporary disconnections. The regulator has also proposed dropping a requirement for electric vehicle charging stations after the government liberalized their sales margins.

Stakeholders have been given 30 days to submit their comments on the proposals, with October 25 set as the deadline.

One major change would bring certain multi-storey buildings into the grid-sharing charging regime. Buildings that need a dedicated transformer above 500 kVA would be required to pay grid sharing charges, including residential buildings. Under the existing arrangement, buildings up to ground plus three storeys are not treated as high-rise structures for this purpose.

NEPRA is also proposing more flexibility for large industrial and commercial consumers to obtain multiple connections. A distribution company could provide up to three connections to a consumer at the same premises, with a combined load of up to 15 MW under the same tariff category, provided the existing grid station has sufficient capacity, and the arrangement is technically feasible.

Consumers taking more than 5 MW would have to bear the full grid sharing and transmission costs. The proposed charges include Rs. 8.948 million per MW, along with land costs estimated at Rs. 0.855 million per MW based on the consumer’s load.

Consumers seeking more than 15 MW would instead require a dedicated grid station and transmission line. If a consumer first pays grid sharing, transmission line and land charges before being shifted to a dedicated grid station, those earlier payments would be refunded.

The proposed framework would also revise the requirements for dedicated transformers, 11 kV feeders and rehabilitation work. Connections of up to 1 MW would attract the relevant equipment and rehabilitation charges, while consumers seeking between 1 MW and 2.5 MW would be charged for rehabilitation based on actual costs. Consumers would also have to cover the cost of meeting required technical standards.

NEPRA has proposed new rules for consumers who temporarily disconnect their electricity supply. They would have to request reconnection before the approved period ends. If they fail to do so, the connection would automatically be treated as active once the temporary disconnection period expires, with applicable charges imposed.

Consumers would still be allowed to request temporary disconnections multiple times, but before seeking another one, they would have to pay fixed and other applicable charges for at least one month.

The regulator has also proposed a uniform approach to detection bills in cases involving registered consumers and suspected meter or billing manipulation.

Distribution companies could recover charges for up to 12 months in cases involving bogus meters, frozen load profiles, software manipulation, Bluetooth-based reversal of meter readings or security breaches. The proposed bills would be calculated according to the consumer’s load rather than past or future consumption, while domestic consumers would face a maximum detection period of six months.