The Central Power Purchasing Agency (Guarantee) Limited has revealed projections indicating electricity costs will rise for Pakistani consumers in 2026. The agency submitted a detailed petition to the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority outlining potential price increases under various economic scenarios.
Detailed Price Projections for 2026
According to the CPPA-G petition, the total power purchase price could reach Rs26.53 per kilowatt-hour during the calendar year 2026. This represents an increase of Rs0.55 per unit over the current rate of Rs25.98/kWh that consumers are paying.
The agency presented five different scenarios with estimates ranging between Rs25.69 and Rs26.53 per kWh. These calculations consider multiple economic factors including:
- Variations in electricity demand
- Fluctuations in exchange rates
- Changes in fuel prices
- Inflation rates
- Borrowing costs
- Transmission and market charges
Capacity Payments and Economic Assumptions
The CPPA-G also projected capacity payments between Rs15.45 and Rs16.07 per unit across the five scenarios for 2026. These projections are based on specific economic assumptions that include:
An exchange rate ranging between Rs280 and Rs300 per US dollar, inflation at 7.74 percent, and KIBOR around 11 percent. These factors significantly influence the final power purchase price that consumers will bear.
Regulatory Review Process
The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority has scheduled a public hearing on November 18, 2025 to review CPPA-G's power purchase price projections. This hearing will specifically examine consumer-end tariffs for XWDISCOs.
NEPRA aims to ensure a just and informed decision before rebasing tariffs starting from January 2026. This regulatory oversight is crucial for balancing consumer interests with the financial sustainability of the power sector.
Notably, during the first half of FY 2025-26, NEPRA determined a power purchase cost of Rs3,342.369 billion, resulting in a national average PPP of Rs25.98 per unit. This was 3.77 percent lower than the Rs27 per unit during the previous fiscal year.
