Copyright brecorder
KARACHI: The President Korangi Association of Trade and Industry (KATI) Muhammad Ikram Rajput has urged the government and Nepra to immediately withdraw the Fuel Cost Adjustment (FCA) recovery decision and release the pending Rs33 billion relief package. He asserted that Karachi’s business community will defend its rights at every platform and will not compromise on the megacity’s industrial and commercial interests. He strongly condemned the decision of the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) and the Power Division to recover FCA and Fuel Cost Component (FCC) charges from K-Electric consumers for the fiscal year 2023-24. Rajput said the move amounts to placing yet another unjust burden on the people and industries of Karachi, calling it unacceptable. Citing Nepra’s own documents, he noted that the decision would extract nearly Rs28 billion from Karachi consumers, while the Rs33 billion incremental consumption relief package announced during the Covid-19 period has still not been paid to the city’s industries. “Instead of providing relief, the already-approved support is being rolled back and new financial burden is being imposed,” Rajput stated. “This is equivalent to destroying Karachi’s industrial base.” He added that K-E’s multi-year tariff (MYT) is already under review, yet authorities are revisiting past decisions in the meantime, creating severe uncertainty for the business community. Rajput criticised Nepra for claiming transparency while simultaneously altering previous rulings and imposing fresh liabilities, a practice he said contradicts the fundamental purpose of MYT. The KATI president further argued that the current tariff of Rs32.57 per unit for KE is significantly lower compared to other distribution companies, yet industries in Karachi are being made to subsidise loss-making power utilities in other regions. “This is unjust and cannot be accepted,” he stressed. Rajput warned that if the situation continues, KE could face a financial crisis or even bankruptcy, which would directly harm Karachi’s industries, jobs and economic activity. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
