Understanding Your Electricity Bill

What the Charges on Your Bill Mean

The duplicate bill generated by the official PITC portal itemizes every charge. Here is what each major line means:

• Cost of Electricity (Energy Charges): Your consumed units multiplied by the per-unit rate of your tariff slab. This is the base of the bill — everything else is added on top.
• FPA (Fuel Price Adjustment): A monthly adjustment — positive or negative — that passes on changes in the fuel cost of power generation (furnace oil, coal, imported gas). It is applied with a delay, so a hot month's FPA may appear on a later bill, which is a frequent cause of "surprise" high bills.
• TR Surcharge (Tariff Rationalization): Bridges the gap between the tariff NEPRA determines for your DISCO and the uniform tariff the federal government notifies nationwide.
• FC Surcharge (Financing Cost): A per-unit surcharge collected to service the power sector's circular-debt borrowings held by Power Holding (Pvt) Limited.
• GST (General Sales Tax): Federal sales tax applied to the electricity value. Further taxes (e.g. income tax, extra tax) can apply to commercial and industrial connections or unregistered consumers.
• Electricity Duty: A small provincial levy calculated on the electricity value.
• TV License Fee: A fixed monthly PTV fee collected through electricity bills (commonly Rs. 35 for domestic connections; verify the current figure on your own bill, as this levy has been the subject of policy changes).
• Arrears / LPS: Unpaid amounts from previous bills, and the Late Payment Surcharge added if you paid after the due date.

Tariff Slabs: Why One Extra Unit Can Cost So Much

Domestic electricity in Pakistan is priced in slabs: the more units you consume in a month, the higher the per-unit rate that applies. Common slab boundaries are 100, 200, 300, and 700 units. Crossing a boundary — even by a few units — can move a large portion of your consumption into a more expensive rate.

Many consumers also benefit from "protected" status: connections that stay below a usage threshold (historically 200 units) for six consecutive months qualify for lower protected rates. A single high month can cost you this protection, so tracking your monthly units matters twice over.

Exact slab boundaries and rates change with government notifications — always confirm the current figures printed on your own bill or in NEPRA/DISCO tariff notices rather than relying on third-party summaries (including this one).

Peak Hours & Time-of-Use (ToU) Tariffs

Consumers with a Time-of-Use (ToU) meter are charged a substantially higher per-unit rate during evening peak-load hours. Shifting heavy appliances — air conditioners, water pumps, irons, washing machines — outside the peak window is the fastest way to cut a ToU bill. Typical peak windows declared in Pakistan are:

Peak windows are set by NEPRA notifications and can vary by season and DISCO. Your exact peak and off-peak units — and the applicable window — are printed on your own ToU bill; treat the table above as general guidance only.

Practical Ways to Lower Your Bill

• Check your bill every month. The duplicate bill includes a 12-month consumption history graph. A sudden jump with no lifestyle change often means an estimated or wrong reading — complain early, with your reference number, before arrears build up.
• Stay under slab boundaries. If you are near 200 or 300 units late in the billing month, deferring heavy appliance use for a few days can keep you in a cheaper slab.
• Shift load away from evening peak. Run washing machines, irons, and water pumps in the morning; pre-cool rooms before the peak window if you have a ToU meter.
• Mind the FPA cycle. High national fuel costs show up as FPA on later bills. If your units are stable but the amount jumped, check the FPA line before assuming a meter problem.
• Service heavy appliances. An old or unserviced air conditioner can consume dramatically more than an inverter unit doing the same job — cooling is the single biggest driver of summer bills across all DISCOs.