KARACHI: As its six-month extension ended today, K-Electric, the only electric distribution firm in Karachi, made an important move by obtaining 20-year distribution supply licences from the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA).
K-Electric gets licence from NEPRA: Prior to the deregulation of the power sector, the electrical distribution firm had applied for non-exclusive distribution and supplier licences for the ensuing twenty years. The previous 20-year licence held by K-electric expired in July 2023.
Following that, NEPRA gave K-Electric Limited (KE) a provisional six-month extension, which “guaranteed” continuous electricity delivery to Karachi, one of Pakistan’s biggest and most populous cities.
The decision to renew came after a thorough hearing that ended on November 28, 2023. Following the hearing, NEPRA has given K-Electric permission to carry on with its electricity delivery activities in Uthal, Bela, Vinder, Hub, Dhabeji, and Gharo.
In the meantime, K-Electric Limited (KEL) submitted an application on May 26, 2023, according to a statement released by Nepra, for the issuance of an Electric Power Supply Licence (Supplier Licence), allowing it to function as Supplier of Last Resort (SoLR) within its assigned service territory.
The statement said, “The authority has approved a new Distribution Licence to K-Electric in terms of Section-20 and 21 of the NEPRA Act to the extent of distribution/network business only, subsequent to the segregation of distribution and supply functions in the 2018 Amendment Act.”
As per the data furnished by KE, the regulatory body stated that the enterprise possesses 2,068 (public and dedicated) 11 KV feeders in total.
According to KE, it currently provides services to about 3.56 million people who use energy. There are roughly 3.10 million home users, 0.519 million commercial users, 23,618 industrial users, 2096 tubewell/agricultural users, 185 public lighting users, 19057 general services users, and 196 bulk power users among the aforementioned.
