QTA in Electricity Bill 2026: Rs 0.5194 a Unit in Pakistan to November, and Every Quarter Listed

The QTA on your electricity bill from September to November 2026 is Rs 0.5194 a unit, a charge NEPRA approved on 4 September 2026 for the April to June quarter, and it applies to K-Electric customers as well as the other companies. Before that, bills from June to August carried a relief of Rs 1.9857 a unit, and bills from March to May a charge of Rs 0.3504.

QTA stands for quarterly tariff adjustment. It is the second adjustment line on a Pakistani electricity bill, next to the monthly fuel charge. Where the fuel charge covers fuel, the QTA covers the rest: capacity payments to power plants, operation and maintenance costs, and the cost of moving power over the grid.

Every QTA billed in 2026

Three quarterly adjustments have reached bills in 2026. Each one is spread over three bill months at a single rate for all of Pakistan. These are the figures in NEPRA's notifications.

The labels change in the middle because NEPRA moved the distribution companies to a calendar year tariff. It set the 2026 tariff on 7 January 2026, and the government notified it on 13 January. Quarters are now counted from January rather than July.

The current QTA of Rs 0.5194 runs to November bills

NEPRA approved a total increase of Rs 12,669 million for April to June 2026 and spread it over September, October and November bills at Rs 0.5194 a unit. NEPRA held a hearing on 12 August 2026 before deciding, and told the Power Division on 4 September.

The companies had asked for more. NEPRA's table of requests, after three companies sent addendums, shows a total of about Rs 33.7 billion. Our earlier report on that request is at the power companies' Rs 1.35 a unit QTA request.

NEPRA lists what went into the figure: changes in capacity charges, variable operation and maintenance, use of system charges, the market operator fee, the effect of the fuel charge on line losses, recovery on extra units sold, and a reversal of certain plant costs for HESCO.

The notification also says one practical thing. If a company issued bills for the period before the notification came out, it may apply the charge in a later month. So a September bill without the QTA line may see it in a following month.

Lifeline, prepaid and package units do not pay the QTA

Each QTA notification applies the rate to all consumer categories except lifeline consumers, units billed under the incremental consumption package, and prepaid consumers. K-Electric customers pay the same rate for the same months, with the same exceptions.

Those exceptions differ slightly from the fuel charge. The monthly FCA also excludes electric vehicle charging stations. The QTA instead leaves out units billed under the incremental package, the discounted rate for extra use. Both spare lifeline homes and prepaid meters.

Work out the QTA on your bill

Multiply your units by Rs 0.5194 for a bill from September to November 2026. The QTA shows as its own line, separate from the FCA, so you can check both. Tax is not included in these figures.

1. Note the units billed on your bill.
2. Check the bill month: September, October or November 2026 means Rs 0.5194.
3. Multiply: 300 units times Rs 0.5194 is Rs 155.82.
4. Find the QTA line on the bill and compare.
5. If it is missing, it may appear in a later month as the notification allows.

That relief is why many bills jumped in September: a discount of almost Rs 2 a unit ended in August and a charge of about 52 paisa started. The change was covered at the time in September's electricity bill increase, and the K-Electric bill line by line is in reading a K-Electric bill.

The July to September quarter comes next

The next QTA will cover July to September 2026. We found no NEPRA decision or hearing for it on the pages we could read on 28 October. If NEPRA keeps its pattern of deciding about two months after a quarter ends and billing over the next three months, it would reach bills from December 2026. That is our reading of the pattern, not an announcement.

The monthly fuel charges for 2026 sit in a separate list, FCA in electricity bills for every month of 2026, including the September request heard on 29 October.

Common questions

What is the QTA in my electricity bill?

It is the quarterly tariff adjustment. From September to November 2026 it is a charge of Rs 0.5194 a unit, set by NEPRA.

Is QTA the same as FCA?

No. The FCA covers one month's fuel cost. The QTA covers capacity payments and other costs for a three month period.

Does K-Electric charge the QTA?

Yes. NEPRA's notifications apply each QTA to K-Electric customers too, for the same months and with the same exceptions.

Why did my bill have a minus QTA in summer?

NEPRA approved a relief of Rs 1.9857 a unit for June, July and August 2026 bills after costs in January to March came in lower than expected.

Do lifeline consumers pay the QTA?

No. Lifeline consumers, prepaid consumers and units under the incremental consumption package are excluded.

How we verified this

What we checked, where we read it, and what we could not confirm.

Last checked 28 October 2026. We read the three NEPRA notifications S.R.O. 459(I)/2026, S.R.O. 953(I)/2026 and S.R.O. 1501(I)/2026, as published on K-Electric's tariff structure page, and checked CPPA-G's quarterly adjustment page for later quarters. NEPRA's own website refused our connection on 28 October, so we could not check it for a hearing on July to September. The requested total is read from a scanned table and may be off by rounding. Bill examples are our arithmetic before tax.