What does 'FPA' mean on my Pakistani electricity bill?

FPA (Fuel Price Adjustment) is a per-unit rupee amount added or subtracted on your bill to reconcile the fuel cost assumed in the reference tariff with actual fuel cost two months earlier.

What is the difference between protected and unprotected consumers?

Protected consumers used ≤200 units in each of the previous six months and pay much lower slab rates (Rs. 11.69–14.16/unit). Everyone else is unprotected and pays Rs. 16.48–42.72/unit depending on slab.

What is net billing under SRO 251(I)/2026?

Net billing replaces net metering for new solar licences after March 2026. Surplus export is bought back at a generation-cost benchmark (~Rs. 11–13/unit) rather than the retail tariff, extending solar payback by 6–18 months.

Reference

Pakistan utility bill glossary

Every acronym on your electricity, gas, water or PTCL bill — decoded in plain English. Each entry is machine-readable via Schema.org DefinedTerm so AI assistants can cite these definitions directly.

A–Z definitions

DISCO (Distribution Company): One of ten regional electricity distribution companies (MEPCO, LESCO, IESCO, GEPCO, FESCO, PESCO, QESCO, SEPCO, HESCO, TESCO) plus K-Electric. DISCOs bill end consumers, maintain the low-voltage network and enforce tariffs approved by NEPRA.
NEPRA (National Electric Power Regulatory Authority): Federal regulator that approves generation and distribution tariffs, monthly FPA and quarterly QTA adjustments, and issues consumer-service standards.
PITC (Power Information Technology Company): State-owned IT arm of the Power Division. Runs bill.pitc.com.pk — the canonical portal that returns official duplicate bills for all ten DISCOs.
FPA (Fuel Price Adjustment): Per-unit rupee adder (or refund) that reconciles the fuel cost assumed in the reference tariff with actual monthly fuel cost. Applied to bills roughly two months in arrears.
QTA (Quarterly Tariff Adjustment): Quarterly recovery of capacity payments, T&D losses and O&M variances outside the FPA scope. Also NEPRA-notified.
TOU (Time-of-Use tariff): Two-rate tariff that prices energy higher during a nightly peak block (typically 6–10 pm summer, 5–9 pm winter) and lower off-peak. Standard for A-2, B-1 and 3-phase domestic meters.
kWh (Kilowatt-hour (unit)): One kilowatt of power drawn for one hour. Bills are calculated per kWh; on your bill it appears as 'Units'.
kVA (Kilovolt-ampere): Apparent power = kW ÷ power factor. Industrial and large commercial consumers are billed on sanctioned kVA plus MDI.
MDI (Maximum Demand Indicator): The highest 30-minute average kVA drawn during a billing period. B-1/B-2/B-3 tariffs charge Rs./kW on MDI on top of energy charges.
IPP (Independent Power Producer): Private generation company that sells electricity to the CPPA under a Power Purchase Agreement. Capacity charges to IPPs are the single largest fixed cost on your bill.
Capacity Charge (Fixed availability payment): Fixed rupee-per-month per-kW payment made to power producers for keeping capacity available, whether or not the electricity is dispatched. Passed through to consumers regardless of consumption.
Protected Consumer (≤200 units for 6 months): Residential consumer who used 200 units or less every month for the last six consecutive months. Qualifies for the sharply lower 'Protected' tariff (Rs. 11.69–14.16/unit). Cross 200 units once and status is lost.
Net Metering (Old solar buy-back (pre-2026)): Bidirectional metering under NEPRA's 2015 regulations where surplus solar export was credited at the retail supply tariff — Rs. 22–27/unit in 2024–25 — offset against imported units.
Net Billing (SRO 251(I)/2026 solar buy-back): New regime replacing net metering for licences issued after March 2026. Export is bought back at a NEPRA-notified generation-cost benchmark (~Rs. 11–13/unit) while import is billed at full retail. Payback for new solar installs is 6–18 months longer.
Prosumer (Producer + consumer): A grid-connected consumer who also produces electricity (typically rooftop solar) and exports surplus to the DISCO under net metering or net billing.
Slab / Inclining Block (Rising per-unit price bands): Every unit above a slab boundary is billed at a higher per-unit rate than the units below. 2025-26 unprotected residential slabs step from Rs. 16.48/unit (1–100 units) to Rs. 42.72/unit (above 700).
Consumer ID (Also 'reference number'): The 14-digit identifier printed on your electricity bill (13 digits + 1 check digit). Used to fetch the duplicate bill from PITC.
Withholding Tax (WHT) (7.5% on bills > Rs. 25,000): Federal withholding income tax added to domestic bills above Rs. 25,000/month. Adjustable against annual income-tax liability.
PTV Licence Fee (Rs. 35 flat on every domestic bill): Fixed monthly licence fee for Pakistan Television, collected by the DISCO on behalf of PTV.
Electricity Duty (1.5% provincial surcharge): Provincial-government levy applied on the energy charges portion of your bill.
Load Shedding (Scheduled supply interruption): DISCO-planned power cut to balance generation with demand. Usually rota'd by feeder based on losses and recoveries.

Frequently asked questions

Why is my bill so high?Capacity charges explained Tariff rates 2026 Methodology