Consumers and industrial stakeholders in Karachi have jointly issued an open letter to the Ministry of Energy (Power Division), asserting that “Karachi consumers cannot remain the clearinghouse for national inefficiencies.” The letter calls for written guarantees, data transparency, and time-bound accountability from the federal government regarding power tariffs, surcharges, and service reliability.
In their communication, Karachi consumers raised structured concerns and demanded a written response from the Ministry of Energy with specific dates, amounts, legal references, and formal guarantees. The letter emphasizes that local consumers should not be penalized for inefficiencies in other parts of the national grid.
The stakeholders asked the Ministry to disclose the per-unit (Rs/kWh) impact of NEPRA’s October 2025 review[1] and specify the billing month it will apply to. They also demanded a written guarantee of no increase if the review is deemed “consumer neutral.” Additionally, they sought assurance that no retrospective Fuel Cost Adjustment (FCA) recoveries, Rs28 billion for FY 2023-24 and up to Rs24 billion for FY 2024-25, will be charged to Karachi consumers, calling on the federal government to bear fiscal responsibility otherwise.
The open letter also raised questions about the Rs3.23 per unit Power Holding Limited (PHL) surcharge, asking for the amortization schedule and a clear date for when Karachi’s bills will be de-linked from this cross-subsidy.
Supply Security and Power Quality
Karachi consumers asked the Ministry of Energy to guarantee uninterrupted electricity for industries and residents under the new tariff framework. They proposed a binding Service-Level Agreement (SLA) outlining performance indicators such as SAIDI, SAIFI, voltage stability, and response time. The letter also demanded compensation for verified industrial losses caused by outages and power fluctuations.
The letter calls for a written guarantee ensuring that Karachi consumers will not finance the losses of other Distribution Companies (DISCOs) through surcharges. Stakeholders also urged the Ministry to introduce loss-linked penalties and divestment timelines for DISCOs with over 30 percent losses.
If a uniform tariff policy continues, the signatories demand identical performance standards, penalties, and SLA benchmarks for both public DISCOs and K-Electric. They also pressed for monthly publication of FCA models, merit orders, import data, and loss metrics, alongside an independent annual audit.
Highlighting Karachi’s contribution of roughly 2000 MW in national off-take, they stressed that this helps reduce idle capacity payments and sought disclosure of the annual savings and how much is credited back to Karachi consumers.
Key Deliverables
The letter concludes with a 10-day deadline for the Power Division to issue:
- A written guarantee of no retrospective FCA recoveries for FY 2023-24 and FY 2024-25.
- A binding SLA for reliability and performance standards.
- A framework separating K-Electric from circular debt linked to public DISCOs.
- A PHL de-linking schedule for Karachi.
- A formal government acceptance of responsibility for regulatory consistency and power quality.
Karachi consumers reaffirmed their demand that the Ministry of Energy ensure fairness, transparency, and accountability in all matters affecting their electricity bills and service quality.
References
- ^ NEPRA’s October 2025 review (www.techjuice.pk)