NEPRA raises incremental tariff for industry and farms to Rs 25.30 a unit

Factories and private tube wells that use more grid electricity than they did a year earlier will pay Rs 25.30 a unit for that extra power from the November 2026 bill, up from Rs 22.98. The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) raised the industrial and agricultural incremental tariff in a split decision issued on 6 November, Business Recorder reported.

The new rate covers industrial and private agricultural consumers of all ex-WAPDA distribution companies (IESCO, LESCO, FESCO, MEPCO, GEPCO, PESCO, HESCO, SEPCO, QESCO and the rest) and K-Electric. It applies only to the "incremental" units, meaning consumption above each connection's reference use for December 2023 to November 2024. Units within the reference level stay on the normal tariff.

What the Rs 2.32 rise costs a business

The increase is Rs 2.32 a unit, or 10.1%. Our arithmetic on the incremental units only:

These figures exclude taxes and any positive fuel charges adjustment, which NEPRA's rules still apply to incremental units. Work out your full bill with our electricity bill calculator.

Key dates

• November 2026 billing: the new rate starts. NEPRA refused the Power Division's request to apply it from October, because October bills had mostly been issued.
• Bills already sent for November before the government notifies the decision will be corrected in later bills.
• 25 November 2026: the Power Division must send NEPRA its full cost review with data; figures for 16 to 30 November are due by 3 December.
• The rate stays until NEPRA decides again after that review.

The decision still has to be notified by the federal government in the official Gazette under Section 31(7) of the NEPRA Act.

Why the regulator was split

The package was approved on 9 December 2025 for three years to push idle power plants into use and stop industry moving to its own captive generation. It was meant to be reviewed every six months. NEPRA said the first review, due by June 2026, was never properly filed: the ministry sent incomplete data in July and September and then asked the regulator to do the review itself.

NEPRA's own estimate of the real cost of serving these extra units was Rs 29.65 a unit over the review period, and as high as Rs 42.01 in April and Rs 49.65 in May 2026, though the regulator said these were not final. Members Amina Ahmed and Maqsood Anwar Khan dissented, saying Rs 25.30 had no credible link to actual cost and the package should be suspended until a proper review arrives. Chairman Waseem Mukhtar used his casting vote to keep it running.

What it means for household bills

Under the package rules, when the real cost is higher than the incentive rate, the difference is paid by all other consumers through fuel charges adjustments. NEPRA acknowledged that this has already happened because of the delayed review. If its Rs 29.65 estimate is close, the gap is still around Rs 4.35 a unit even after this increase.

That matters because November bills already carry the September fuel adjustment of Rs 2.37 a unit. Industry groups asked NEPRA to recover past losses from package users or credit them back through later adjustments; the regulator has asked the ministry to cover both review periods (December 2025 to May 2026 and June to November 2026) in its next submission.

What to do

• Industrial and farm connections: check the incremental units line on your November bill. If it was issued at Rs 22.98, expect an adjustment later.
• Weighing solar or captive power: compare Rs 25.30 a unit with our solar payback calculator.
• Households: this does not change your slab rate directly, but track the next fuel adjustment, which is where any shortfall shows up.