The Hidden Cost to Everyone Else
While the tariff is marketed as relief for industry, the real price is paid by every other consumer. NEPRA simultaneously authorised an extra Rs2.37 per unit surcharge on all November bills to recover an additional Rs25 billion through the fuel‑cost adjustment. That move alone added a hidden tax on households already grappling with load‑shedding. Moreover, the incremental support package (ISP) of Rs22.98 per unit, introduced in December 2025, has been protested by industry since May 2026 because it has not reduced bills but instead inflated them.
Solar Is Not a Panacea – Yet It Is Used as a Distraction
In the same tweet that announced the tariff, the author warned that cheaper solar‑plus‑battery solutions are “threatening the grid’s competitiveness”. No market data were offered to substantiate that claim, but the observation is not without merit. Solar‑plus‑battery projects are now undercutting diesel‑run plants, forcing the grid to confront a reality it has long ignored: the regulated tariff structure is out of step with the emerging cost curve of clean energy. Ignoring that mismatch only deepens the fiscal hole that regulators try to patch with arbitrary numbers.
