Electricity unit price in Pakistan: NEPRA rates by slab, protected vs unprotected

The electricity unit price in Pakistan runs from Rs 10.54 to Rs 47.20 a unit for homes, as of October 2026, depending on your slab. Protected homes pay Rs 10.54 or Rs 13.01, and everyone else pays Rs 22.44 (up to 100 units) rising to Rs 47.20 (above 700 units). These are base rates before fixed charges, fuel adjustments and taxes, from the schedule IESCO publishes under S.R.O. 279(I)/2026.

What is the electricity unit price in Pakistan by slab?

These are the residential rates for a sanctioned load up to 5 kW, as of October 2026, before adjustments and taxes:

Lifeline homes pay Rs 3.95 (up to 50 units) or Rs 7.74 (up to 100 units) and no fixed charge. Prepaid residential meters pay a flat Rs 42.12 with a Rs 675 fixed charge.

Homes with a sanctioned load of 5 kW or more are on time-of-use rates: Rs 46.85 peak and Rs 34.53 off-peak, with a Rs 675 fixed charge.

What is the difference between protected and unprotected consumers?

A protected home uses under 200 units a month for six continuous months (Dawn, 7 Feb 2026). It pays Rs 10.54 or Rs 13.01 a unit. About 6.1 million homes were protected under 200 units, and 9.9 million under 100, Dawn reported in February 2026.

One month above 200 units, a summer month with the AC on for example, breaks the six-month run. You then pay the unprotected rate, Rs 22.44 a unit or more (Dawn), until you’re back under the limit for six months in a row.

The schedule also says only protected homes get “the benefit of one previous slab”. When the government withdrew that benefit for unprotected homes in September 2022, Aaj News reported that they are billed every unit at the rate of the slab their total falls in. We couldn’t find a 2026 NEPRA document that spells this out, so check your own bill.

What is the electricity unit price above 200 and 300 units?

Above 200 units you’re unprotected:

• 201-300 units: Rs 33.10 a unit, Rs 350 fixed charge
• 301-400 units: Rs 36.46 a unit, Rs 400 fixed charge

Crossing a slab line costs more than the extra units. If your DISCO bills this way, 300 units cost 300 × Rs 33.10 + Rs 350 = Rs 10,280 before adjustments and taxes. 301 units cost 301 × Rs 36.46 + Rs 400 = Rs 11,374, about Rs 1,094 more for one unit.

What gets added to the unit price on my bill?

Fixed charges. The federal cabinet approved fixed charges for homes in February 2026, from Rs 200 to Rs 675 a month (Dawn, 7 Feb 2026). The amount follows your slab, as in the table above. Lifeline users are exempt.

Fuel cost adjustment (FCA). NEPRA sets this each month. October 2026 bills carry Rs 1.1086 a unit for August fuel costs (Dawn, 8 Oct 2026). September bills carried Rs 2.0581 for July.

Quarterly adjustment (QTA). Bills in September, October and November 2026 carry Rs 0.5194 a unit for April to June (Dawn, 5 Sep 2026). The earlier relief of Rs 1.9857 a unit ran on June to August bills only.

Both adjustments apply to ex-WAPDA DISCO and K-Electric consumers. Lifeline and prepaid consumers are excluded.

Taxes. Sales tax is charged at the 18% standard rate under the Sales Tax Act. If you’re not on FBR’s Active Taxpayers List and your monthly bill is Rs 25,000 or more, you also pay 7.5% advance income tax (FBR rate card, June 2026). See filer vs non-filer.

Electricity duty was taken off bills from July 2025, and the Rs 35 PTV fee had already been removed (Profit, 1 Jul 2025).

When does the electricity unit price change next?

NEPRA now resets base tariffs once a year from 1 January, instead of July. The 2026 rates came from its 7 January 2026 decision, with a national average of Rs 33.38 a unit (Profit, 8 Jan 2026). If that pattern holds, the next reset comes in January 2027.

Fuel adjustments still change every month and quarterly adjustments every three months, so your bill moves even when the slab table doesn’t.

What does the unit price mean for solar?

Each grid unit you replace with solar saves you its full price. For an unprotected home, that’s Rs 33.10 to Rs 47.20 a unit before adjustments and taxes. A protected home saves only Rs 10.54 to Rs 13.01 a unit, so the same panels save it far less.

Solar doesn’t remove the fixed charge if you stay on the grid. For payback and export rules, see is solar worth it in Pakistan and net metering in Pakistan.

More guides: Solar calculator · What size solar system · Solar system prices · How to apply for net billing · How to check your filer status