On 30 October 2026, NEPRA published a notice inviting comments on a proposed modification to K-Electric Limited's generation licence GL/04/2002. The proposal concerns Unit 5 of Bin Qasim Power Station-I and is not an approval of the requested modification or tariff treatment.
What K-Electric is seeking
K-Electric's application dated 4 August 2026, published with NEPRA's 30 October notice, asks the Authority to permit retention of Unit 5 of Bin Qasim Power Station-I as secondary reserve until FY2030. The filing relies on regulation 10 of the NEPRA Licensing (Application, Modification, Extension and Cancellation) Procedure Regulations, 2021. It envisages dispatch according to the economic merit order. The filed technical schedule describes a conventional thermal unit commissioned in 1991, with gross installed capacity of 210 MW and an expected remaining life until 30 June 2030.
The application does not establish that the extension has been granted. Neither the notice nor the accompanying technical material is a final licensing determination.
Why the company wants to retain the unit
K-Electric cites fuel-supply uncertainty, potential constraints on national-grid interconnection, forced outages, and possible RLNG or gas shortfalls. It argues that the unit's gas and furnace-oil capability would provide contingency flexibility and could reduce reliance on more expensive high-speed diesel generation in certain circumstances. These are the applicant's assertions, not findings already adopted by NEPRA.
The application includes demand and supply projections through FY2030 and details of previous rehabilitation work. Stakeholders should assess the reliability case alongside dispatch efficiency, safety, environmental obligations and the prudence of any proposed recoverable expenditure.
Requested costs and their status
The public notice records a request for approximately PKR 152 million in annual operation and maintenance costs, including relevant indexation, and approximately PKR 73 million in working-capital requirements, also subject to indexation, as pass-through items. K-Electric estimates a combined annual impact of approximately PKR 225 million and around PKR 0.01 per kWh on its stated FY2027 billed-units assumption. These are proposed amounts, not an approved tariff increase.
The filing contemplates recovering energy costs based on units produced, while treating fixed operations and maintenance and working capital through a fixed-charge mechanism. A final determination, if any, will require independent regulatory examination of cost assumptions, dispatch and the applicable tariff framework.
Who may comment and when
NEPRA invites stakeholders, interested and affected persons, and the public to submit comments for or against the communicated proposal to the Registrar within fourteen days from publication of the notice. The official notice should be consulted for submission particulars and deadline computation. The 15-page application is also publicly available.
Industrial consumers, power-sector participants and other affected persons may address whether the requested reserve capacity is necessary, whether the proposed costs are prudent, how economic-merit dispatch would operate and whether environmental or reliability considerations require conditions. No one should treat the consultation as a change in present licensing obligations.
Commercial implications
The immediate action is to assess the application and, where appropriate, comment within the specified period. There is no newly operative tariff or licence modification to implement. Businesses should monitor NEPRA's eventual decision separately from this invitation.
Original documents: NEPRA notice of 30 October 2026 and the complete K-Electric application.
Related reading: energy and infrastructure legal practice; NEPRA's separate standalone power-system consultation; fuel-supply interruption risk in power projects. Return to Knowledge.
General legal information only. No regulatory approval is implied.