If your electricity bill feels higher than the units suggest, the reason is usually the slab system, the monthly fuel price adjustment (FPA) and the taxes stacked on top. Here is how each part works, in plain language.
How unit slabs work (and the part almost everyone gets wrong)
Domestic bills in Pakistan use a slab (tiered) system: the per-unit rate steps up as your monthly usage crosses 100, 200, 300 and higher thresholds. Lower-usage protected and lifeline consumers pay far less per unit than higher-usage unprotected ones.
Here is the part that catches people out. Domestic billing is not telescopic. The notes to the current notified schedule state that “only protected residential consumers will be given the benefit of one previous slab” and that a “residential life line consumer will not be given any slab benefit”. In plain terms: if you are an unprotected consumer, every unit you used is charged at the rate of the slab you reached — not just the units above the line.
That single rule explains the jumps that look impossible. At the rates notified in S.R.O. 279(I)/2026, an unprotected household using exactly 200 units pays 200 × Rs 28.91 = Rs 5,782 in energy charges. Use one more unit — 201 — and the whole month reprices into the next band: 201 × Rs 33.10 = Rs 6,653. That one extra unit cost about Rs 871, before tax.
A protected consumer is treated more kindly: they keep the benefit of the one preceding slab, so at 200 units the first 100 are charged at Rs 10.54 and the next 100 at Rs 13.01, for Rs 2,355 in total.
Approximate domestic tariff
These are the NEPRA uniform rates that apply to the mainland DISCOs (LESCO, MEPCO, FESCO and the rest). We show them only once verified against NEPRA, so the figures below appear as they are confirmed.
Domestic rates run from Rs 10.54/unit (protected, first 100 units) to Rs 47.20/unit (unprotected, above 700), plus a fixed charge per kilowatt of sanctioned load. The band most households sit in, 101–200 units unprotected, is Rs 28.91/unit.
Crucially, billing is not telescopic: an unprotected consumer pays the rate of the band their month reaches on every unit. See the full schedule, fixed charges and the adjustment in force →
S.R.O. 279(I)/2026 — NEPRA decision of 11 February 2026, effective 2026-02-12. S.R.O. 46(I)/2026 (Schedule of Tariff), as modified by S.R.O. 279(I)/2026 of 12 February 2026
What is fuel price adjustment (FPA)?
The FPA is a monthly adjustment that reflects the actual cost of the fuel used to generate electricity, usually two months earlier. When fuel costs rise, the FPA adds to your bill; when they fall, it can be a small credit. It is shown as a separate line and is the single biggest reason two months with the same units can cost different amounts.
Taxes & other charges
On top of the energy charge and FPA, your bill carries electricity duty, GST, a TV licence fee, and sometimes a fixed or minimum charge and a financing-cost surcharge. Together these can add a noticeable amount to the total.
See it on your own bill
Check your latest bill on your company page — for example LESCO, MEPCO or PESCO. In Azad Kashmir, rates are set separately: see Azad Kashmir electricity unit price & tariff.